The New Kid
by RottenSeahorse
Summary: It was just supposed to be a scavenge hunt for supplies, but Nick finds out about his family he never knew...and it gets worse...Nellis Slash.
1. The New Kid

"We might as well check it out." The older man mumbled, slipping his fingers through dark brown hair. If he really wanted to speak his mind, he would have said a little vulgar joke, and not wanted to check the abandoned place out at all, but he didn't want to hear that goddamn bald middle-aged teacher nag again…

Ellis was on board with the idea, of course. That kid never hated a single thing. He even liked the zombies a little as well! He always noted how cool they looked, or how fast they moved. God, you would think that kid was on some kind of drug…

Rochelle was already intent on sleeping, being it the third week they've been in this mess. If you could ask Nick how he felt about the situation, he would bluntly reply with some kind of humiliating remark about how his teammates never seem to care hard enough, and then an aggravated remark about 'he never gets his rest'.

He could tell most of his team members were fed up with him. Most, he said, not all. Why did he say most? Because Ellis hates no one.

Nick wasn't the type of guy to understand people or express his inner feelings. He was tough and melancholy, so there was really nothing worth digging up from the man. He made snide remarks about everything and always had some kind of sarcastic or rude remark toward his 'partner in crime'.

At this very moment, they were cautiously walking one foot in front of the other down a rickety board set out a few inches over a dark swamp filled with God knew what. Ellis seemed intent on making it to the house across the marshy land to check it out. Nick could only imagine why the hick wanted to check it out, but his mind couldn't settle on a conclusion.

Coach and Rochelle were standing quietly on the other side of the swamp, on dry land, away from the mud-men and vicious zombies. Nick envied their situation right now, and dreaded being in a house for more than 6 minutes with the annoying hick.

"Why are we here, Overalls." Nick spat, finding sturdy land on the Swamp-house's porch. Mosquitoes, flies, and other assorted bugs were dancing around in front of the darkened screen door that led into the living room. The gambler could scarcely make out a couple silhouettes of stumbling, gargling zombies.

The house was quiet, eerily quiet. The hick opened the door, sending bullets into the zombies before they could react to their intrusion. "Hush, Neek, I hear sumthin'." The hick whispered, putting a finger against pursed lips. Holy Lord if Rochelle and Coach weren't expecting them back out soon, Nick would send his frying pan upside the boy's head and leave him here.

He bit bad a sarcastic response and followed the hick inside. "What do you hear?" Nick grumbled, only to be hushed again by the increasingly annoying hick. Even though Nick didn't mind knocking this idiot out, he obeyed (for once) his command and stood in the living room/kitchen as Ellis slowly crept along down the short dark hallway to the bedroom door. "Hello…?" Ellis whispered softly, opening up the first door on his right, only to find it empty. "We're not gunna hurt ya, kay?" He called out softly, opening the second door.

Nick rolled his eyes, knowing what the kid was doing was obviously hopeless. As the hick made his way along the hallway, Nick decided to take a look around. He opened drawers, tossing them out onto the floor when he found nothing useful. He tossed open cabinets and kicked over chairs. Nothing useful, of course.

As he opened the last cupboard, he heard behind him and chair wobble on the wooden floor and a soft curse. He swiveled around, frying pan at the ready. "Who the hell is there?" He growled out loud, his green eyes darting back and forth. He heard clothes scuffle along the ground and a pair of glowing green eyes appear from under the chair.

Before he could even comprehend who was under the chair, the form darted out, baseball bat in hand, screaming. Nick swiveled out of the way, grabbing a handful of the person's hair. The attacker squealed, clawing at Nick's hand as he kept a firm hold.

The attacker was a woman, and a young woman at that. She didn't look infected, although her skin was pale from fright and her eyes were wide with fear. She dropped the bat, her eyes staring into Nick's. A moment of silence passed between them before anything was spoken. That anything being Ellis noisily trotting bad in the living room with his AK-47 at hand.

"Y-You're not…infected!" The girl gasped, digging her nails into Nick's hand. The gambler let go, blood dotting up from the semi-circular cuts embedded into his knuckles. "Ey, and neither are you. If I hadn't had known sooner you would have had a frying pan whacked so hard across your head you'd have been dead in an instant."

The girl patted down her long, dark brown hair, which had the same darkness and hue as Nick's. Speaking of which, her eyes also had that dazzling green glow like Nick's. She also had that same glare he was famous for….

"What's your name?" Nick mumbled, wiping away the blood that started to drip onto his pan. "Karin." The girl stated, letting the bat rest on her shoulder. She wore a black hoodie with the sleeve coming up her palms and holes in the sides for her thumbs to poke out of. A skull of white paint was splattered on the front. She wore a pair of dark denim jeans and her hair fell naturally behind her, no ponytail or anything.

Her face was pale from the previous shock, but her mouth never removed that scowl. "Well hey ther, Karin!" Ellis chimed, letting his hand stretch out in front of the young woman's. She gingerly shook it and smiled. "So how old are ya?" The hick asked, his blue eyes so friendly and cheery. "Nineteen years of age." She responded thoughtfully.

"Nineteen?" Nick blurted, his eyes green eyes locking with hers. "You look like you're fucking 15!" Karin narrowed her eyes at him, her mouth forming a bigger scowl than Nick has ever mustered up.

"I should find that flattering but I won't since you practically wrenched half of my hair off of my head!"

"You fucking attacked me!" Nick defended.

"I thought you were a zombie." She snorted.

"Back at ya."

Although Nick's obvious attitude toward the woman presented itself as aggravated and annoyed, Nick was actually starting to enjoy this girl's company. _She's so much like me it's scary…_

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**_

"Who's this?" Rochelle asked as they made their way across the swamp again. Ellis helped the woman down from the board and Nick couldn't help but feel a sting of jealousy. Although his mind was convinced that he hated the hick more than anything, something dwelled at the back of his mind that maybe the feeling wasn't hate that he publicly showed toward the hick.

As he made his turn to get off the plank, Ellis outstretched his hand for him, but being the man Nick was, he scoffed and rejected the gesture. He wasn't about to get his reputation diminished by this. Karin, strangely, noticed this (being the new kid to the group) and retorted, "Don't need to be so rude about it."

Her voice had the same tone that everyone hated, and Rochelle let her surprised gaze lock on her. Coach scowled himself, stepping up to her, "Now, I know what yer trying to do is stick up for Ellis, but sometimes we don't need yer attitude, Miss." Karin cocked an eyebrow, sighing and bowing her head. "Fine."

Ellis eyed Nick, his blue eyes swirling with hurt as they made their way down the planks to a tall bridge that stretched a couple dozen feet across the swamp.

"I see a Safe House!" Nick exclaimed with glee, his pace quickening and going up in front of the group. The house was placed at the other side of the bridge, It would have been easy if not for the dozen or so zombies in front of it. Karin's breath hitched into her throat, and Nick saw her green eyes widen. "Scared, are ya?" He teased, his eyes narrowing. Karin gulped, staring angrily at Nick and retorting, "Nope."

It was all scarring for Karin as she rushed into the Safe House, hearing Coach clang the door shut and wedge a metal pipe into the slot to keep it closed. He grumbled to himself, turning around and making his way to the kitchen area. "I'm starvin'."

Ellis seated himself on the floor, leaning his head against the wall and taking in a few breaths of air. The air wasn't clean, it hung with a lingering scent of rotting flesh and murky fog, but it was air and they all needed a breather. Nick sat down next to the hick, his eyes looking the younger man up and down. "You look like shit." He retorted, remembering how his ass was beaten up out there. Ellis flushed red in the cheeks and he turned his back on the Gambler. "Nah, I'm fine, Neek."

His voice was laced with annoyance, which was rare with the lovable hick. With that being said, the Gambler grabbed his first AID kit and yanked up the hick's short sleeve. Ellis turned to the man in surprise, but didn't speak as Nick quietly wrapped the boy's bleeding arm in bandages. Goddamn zombies tried taking chunks out of him for lunch.

As for Karin, she sat on the dining table (which was being used as a supply table at the moment), her knees curled up to her chest, and her eyes staring down at a photo she held gingerly in her hands. She stared quietly at the picture, tears burning in her eyes. She used her palm to wipe away the tears.

She didn't hear the footsteps of a curious gambler behind her, peering over her shoulder at the pic. "Ey, why do you have a picture of my parents?" Nick asked rather rudely. Karin jumped, shaking in her converse as she turned around into the glaring, dark eyes of him. Without blinking, she regained her scowl and shoved the man back with a pointy elbow. "_Your_ parents?" She hissed, clutching the picture away from his as he tried to make a grab for it.

"These are my parents, they got killed in the Infection not two weeks ago!" She scowled, having to press the sole of her shoe into the man's stomach to keep him from trying to grab it. "Why did you say 'your parents'?"

"Because they are!" He spat, snatching the picture from her grasp and staring at it. It was a picture of his parents, he was so fucking sure! But the person in this photo wasn't him. He never smiled past the age of 10…

The picture was of his father and mother at his old park he would go to, sitting on a picnic blanket with a little girl between them. A girl with dazzling green eyes and dark brown hair that came in almost wavy, but straight as well.

He let the picture fall to the floor, his eyes fixed dumbstruck on the girl that sat stubbornly on the table. "Did you…um…ever remember having a brother…?" He asked rather hoarsely, his eyebrows furrowing. Karin's eyes softened as she tried to remember, "No, but my mother told me I had one, but he ran away when he was fourteen."

Nick's heart did a skipped beat as he stared at her. "So…these are my parents…" Karin was about to retort with a rude remark, but Nick slapped a hand over her mouth. "BUT…these are your parents too…"

Her eyes widened rather large, because now she finally got it.

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

It had been a while since Nick's outburst was said. Now, as the team sat around in the main room of the Safe House, listening to Nick's mumbling and his dress shoes scuffing against the concrete floor, Karin was wondering why he was in such a disappointment. She chewed solemnly on her thumb as she watched Nick pause by the window, stare out of it for a second, and resume his pacing. Of course, Ellis thought nothing wrong of the situation at hand, because was busy watching closely his friend in distress. "Why's thur a probl'm Neek?" He asked honestly.

Nick shook his head, his mind going over everything. Of course, he did notice that him and the 19 year old shared physical traits. Both had green eyes of the most vivid color (although Karin's were sharp and glowing and could possibly scare even the most savage of monsters) and they both had the same color and hue of dark chocolate brown hair. Hers was longer, though, meeting her in the small of her back. They both could produce a very good scowl, and she had the attitude of a fiery woman. She had an attitude that, to Nick's dispair, could top his by a landslide.

"My parents **HATED** each other! That's the whole reason I left in the first damn place!" He exclaimed, his fingers running through his slicked back hair. "I can't even guess _why_ then would...make another one!" He paused, bringing his thumb up and chewing on the nail.

Karin and Nick both met eyes, noticed they both were doing the same thing, and dropped their hands to their sides. Ellis shrugged, sitting against the couch that karin was propped upon. "Well, if I met a rel'tive o' mine, I'd be thrilled n' give um a hug!"

"You probably don't know us very well then." Karin laughed, digging into the inside of her jacket to pull out a white case.

It took a moment for Nick to notice that the white package in her hand was a pack of cigars. The gambler's eyes widened as she pulled out a cigar, lit it with a wooden match, and stuck it into her mouth. The team went quiet, all knowing how Nick acted during the beginning of the apocolypse when his precious carton of cigars were lost in the burning hotel.

Ellis's eyes narrowed, and he went silent as well, hunching his shoulders and crossing his arms. Karin looked up from reading the back of the package to meet the eyes of everyone in the group, except Nick's. His eyes were locked on the pack.

"Oh, srree." She mumbled with the cigar in her mouth, handing the pack outward toward the group, "wnt 'ne?"

Before Nick could happily agree and grab the pack, Ellis intruded on the situation, slamming the pack down on the ground and smashing it with the soul of his shoe. Rochelle's breath came out fast, and Coach decided it would be a good time to cough. Both were uncomfortable with the situation at hand, and knew that if Ellis was angry, then something was terribly wrong. "I tuld ya that I hate yew smokin' Neek..." He mumbled, staring at the now shell-shocked gambler before him.

Nick slowly ripped his gaze from the pack up to Ellis's stern blue-eyed gaze. "Overalls...I swear to God-"

Karin's utter frustration flowed over his words as she took the cigar from her mouth, "HEY! I PAYED GOOD MONEY FOR THOSE!" She retorted, his green eyes fixating on Ellis's. For some reason, Ellis didn't find himself to brave now, he just wanted to escape that **glare.**

Karin let out a sigh, letting the smoke swirl around as her teeth gnawed softly on the end of her cigar. "I ain't getting mad." She said, taking the cigar away, "It's just I haven't had a smoke in over three weeks, and I really needed one. I tried quitting but..." Her voice faded off and she just shrugged. That was that.

Ellis's eyes softened and he nodded, his smile forming back onto his face in a matter of seconds, "Oh boy, this here reminds me of when mah buddy Keith n' I foun'-"

"Found a pack of cigars in your mom's dresser and started to smoke them, then Keith couldn't stop to you tied him to a chair and tied the pack of cigars over a candle just to make him stop smoking...I know." Karin concluded, rolling her eyes as if she was part of the group and had heard that too many times to count.

Everyone went quiet again, and it was Ellis's turn to show shock on his face. "Ya know the storeh?" He exclaimed with concern, coming up next to Karin on the couch. She nodded, "Yea, Keith..." Her voice halted as she said his name, and her face went pale. "Oh my god** KEITH**"

She popped off the couch in a matter of seconds, slipping by Nick and meeting the door. Without a second though, she grabbed the large and heavy pipe that held the door in place, pushed it away with ease, and ran out into the wandering Infected.

Before Nick went after her, Coach huffed and looked hurt, "It took me 20 minutes to get that thing on there..."

"KEITH!" Karin screamed, her knees wading in swamp water. She had a skillet on her back in case of any friendly infected decided to drop by and say "hello". The swamp was quiet, not a sound.

"KARIN! JESUS!" Nick yelled, coming into the swamp with a curse as he came up behind her, "What the hell are you thinking?" He looked down at the swamp water and back up at Karin, "You owe me a new suit."

Karin huffed and rolled her eyes, looking back out into the Infected swamp. "Keith! He's out there!" Nick scratched his forehead, confusion replacing his frustration. "Wait...you mean...Ellis's friend Keith? **THAT **keith?" Karin nodded, waving him away like she didn't really care what he had to say. "Yea, I was in Savannah when the Infection hit, I was staying at a Hotel near by, saw Keith working on a farmland, and said hello. Of course, that was the day before the Infection really started to take affect, and we just found each other in the midst of the confusion and other shit and decided to survive with every fucking CEDA plane gone!"

She looked around, eyeing the Infected far away from where she stood. "Keith talked about Ellis a lot!"

With a roll of his eyes, he walked with Karin as she made her way through the swamp. Even though she was a pain in his ass, he was slowly starting to get use to this girl he could now call his sister.

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

Ellis was met at the Safe House door with one very pissed off gambler, a pleased nineteen year old, and a slightly confused man with shaggy hair. Nick stormed past the happily greeting hick and collapsed onto the sofa, his face smashed into the cushions and his screaming voice being muffled by the fabric. Karin came in after him, carefully leading a battered and bruised (and still confused) man. Ellis gave one look at the figure to suddenly burst into gleeish laughter and happiness.

"KEITH!" He exclaimed with glee, waiting for Karin to let go of his arm before he slammed into the guy with a brotherly hug. Nick eyed the two men from his spot on the couch and narrowed his eyes. Ellis had never been this fucking happy before (shocker even to Nick) and it made the gambler feel a pinch of guilt. Maybe...maybe it was him.

The man known as Keith stumbled down onto a wooden chair, rubbing his forehead of dirt and other questionable objects that Nick would rather be kept un-named. Keith gave a large to smile Ellis, staying in the embrace extra long. "I'm suh glad yer okay!" Ellis said happily, watching as Karin grabbed the first Aid from her back and went to work on Keith.

Nick lifted his head from the sofa, sitting up and watching the man get fixed on. The man was built, though not crazy buff. He had a crop of semi ginger, semi blonde, hair and a small goatee of the same color. He had a bandana tied to his arm, almost completely covering a tattoo of a tribal sun on his arm. _Don't tell me they got matching tattoos... _Nick thought in despair. He wore a black t-shirt and ripped jeans and dragged along the ground over his old white sneakers.

A cross hung on a necklace that dropped around his midsection, and he wore a trucker cap just like Ellis. The two were hugging it out like an old gay couple in front of him, and he rolled his eyes, giving off a huff that distracted Ellis from his reunion. "Hey, Neek, this 'ere is-"

"Keith, I know." He retorted, standing up and going over to check and make sure the door was securely fastened. Keith smiled down at Karin as she worked on his arms, covering a scratch mark that stretched from his elbow to his wrist. "Thanks a ton there sweetie." Nick propped himself straight, adjusting his jacket and turned to Keith.

Sweetie?

His face darkened and he felt something he hadn't felt ever before in his life (although there was one time where a man was making a move on his ex wife, and he went ape shit on the guy, but he didn't want to think about that right now). For the first time he felt protective when it came to Karin, and he walked up, hands in pockets and his eyes annoyingly glaring at Keith.

"So, you're the famous Keith, eh?" He asked rather rudely, his eyes scanning the man up and down. "What are you, 30?" Keith just smirked, a laugh erupting from his chest. "Haha, yer funny! Actually I'm only 24 n' just turned it too."

Rochelle moved in front of Nick's dark form, holding out her hand, "Welcome to the team! It's always good to have another one with us!" Keith happily shook her hand and gave a nod to Coach, who was busy eating over a can of refried beans. Karin moved to Keith's chest, pushing up the shirt to expose small cuts in his flesh.

Nick felt himself get even more enraged, and shoved Karin to the side before she could apply the ointment. She stumbled back into Rochelle, and both of the girls glared at him. "What was that for?" She retorted, her gren eyes piercing into Nick's. The gambler snatched the first AID in her grasp and respnded calmly, "You need to eat, alright? And rest. I can take care of Overalls 2 here, alright?"

Karin paused a moment, meeting eyes with Keith who only shrugged. She shrugged her shoulders and glanced at Ellis, who was staring at Nick with some sort of deeply hurt expression. What...?

"Fine, but you need to rest too, dip-shit." She responded, smirking when he snapped his gaze back at her with some kind of frustration.

As her and the others ate, Nick continued on Keith's wounds. His stomach was not all the way muscular, but it wasn't fat as well. He saw Keith staring at him through narrowed eyes, "Mind me 'bout what happened there, sir?" He asked rather harshly.

Nick met his gaze fiercly and stated, "I swear to **GOD** you flirt or make a move on my sister I'll tear that goatee off your face."

Keith stared at him dumbstruck, "Sister?"

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**_

It was around midnight when Nick had to wake up and have his turn at keeping watch over the team. He felt the soft shaking of Ellis's hand as he came back to reality and sat up, rubbing an eye. "Already?" He asked sleepily, and the hick nodded, helping the man to his feet.

As he slowly made his way to the door, Ellis stopped him with a hand on the wrist. Nick turned his gaze to Ellis, an eyebrow cocked. "What Overalls?" Ellis's eyes read something deep and...sad, but Nick couldn't think of why he was so hurt. "You okay?"

Ellis bit his lip, thinking of what to say, but nothing came out. Nick rolled his eyes, slipping his wrist from the younger man's grip, "If it's nothing, then let me watch and get rest, kid."

"D-DO YA LIKE KEITH, NEEK?" He blurted out, putting a hand in front of his mouth as if trying to pull back the sentence he just spilled from his lips. Nick halted at the door, his body becoming hot from embarrassment, and turned back to the kid. "Um...what?"

Ellis blushed and looked down at the ground, "Well...er...ya seemed suh detirmined tuh...help Keith n' all."

Nick's eyes softened and he moved over to Ellis. "Jealous?" He said, wanting to keep up the act for another minute to see what the hick had to say. Ellis blushed darker, biting on a knuckle. "Oh...Erm...Well..." He looked up at Nick's semi-glowing green eyes. "Yes."

Nick smiled and moved over closer to Ellis. "Overalls, I don't like Keith like that. I'd rather stick pins in my eyes." He laughed. "The reason I was healing him was because he was making a move at my sister."

Ellis's smile came back, "So you do care about her!" He sounded proud in him that he was able to produce feelings other than the simple: Anger, annoyance, pleasure.

Nick nodded. Ellis then looked down at the ground, his feet fidgeting on the concrete ground. Nick sighed softly to himself, "Hey Overalls?"

"Yea?" Ellis asked, looking back at him. The gambler moved in and planted a quick and soft kiss on the hick's lips and stated, "Get some sleep, kid."

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**_

Karin was in a fairly good mood that morning. She hummed while she worked on getting her supplies together, loading up her automatic shotgun, strapping pills to her leg and hooking a first AID onto her back. The others, although knowing her for only a day, seemed this change in behavior rather odd, and caused the group to be suspicious (even Keith). Overalls 2 came around next to Karin, helping her make sure her supplies were in check.

Nick's eyes were glaring into the scene, barely taking his attention to his own work. "Ey, Neek, need help?" Ellis chimed in, bringing Nick back to his work. The gambler turned his attention to the hick, his mind going blank for a second while Ellis gingerly turned him around and hooked the first AID kit onto his back. "Oh, thanks kid." He responded rather shyly, totally out of character for the crude man. He cast another glance at the group, who were too busy getting stuff together to draw their own heads to Nick and Ellis.

"Oh, about last night-" Nick began, but was cut off by Ellis's gazing eyes. They trailed along his body, blushing darkly as he stared at him. "Yer pretty nice, Neek. Yew gotten slimmer since this 'ere apocolypse started." He smiled as his gaze came back up to Nick's and the gambler's hand squeezed the the hick's side before Nick helped work on Ellis's.

Of course, Nick hadn't been careful enough, because Karin was happily watching the scene before her as Keith busily worked on his own pack.

"Ya sure ya don't want anything else?" He questioned, handing her a bottle of pills. She shook her head. "No thanks, I'm fine. Almost done here." She responded, patting the strap that rested on her leg. She drew her attention away from the other two, respecting that they surely wanted privacy.

"Yew really don't like Keith, Neek?" Ellis whispered as he sat with his back turned to Nick as the gambler made sure the Health pack was strapped on tight. Nick chuckled, squeezing his shoulder, "Yes, but I don't want** anyone** knowing about what I did last night, okay? You could imagine how Coach and Rochelle and Keith would feel. So, if I act like an asshole, just bear with me because I don't mean it."

Ellis looked behind him to meet the gambler's eyes, "What 'bout all them times before, Neek? Did ya mean it then?"

A moment of silence passed between the two men, and Nick chuckled softly, snatching the cap off of the hick's head. "Oh, you know I tease you, kid." The hick's face fell as Nick stuffed the cap on his own head and paraded through the Safe House with it on. "YEEHAW!" Nick exclaimed, imitating a horrid southern accent. Ellis's cheeks picked up a light pink hue as everyone paused and watched the older man prance around the room, making fun (like always) of the younger hick.

"Neek!" Ellis whined, chasing him down and trying to snatch the cap from his reach. The gambler lifted his hand up high, making it so the hick couldn't reach his precious trucker cap. Nick forgot that Keith was taller than himself.

The cap disappeared from his hand and into Keith's who stood uneasily close to the gambler with a stern glare. "Don't be messin' with El's cap, ya here?" He said, his eyes glaring down at Nick's.

Nick had his fair share of dick-heads and assholes that were much much taller and larger than himself in his old conning years, so he stood his ground as Ellis gave out a soft whine of protest. "Aw, come on there Keeith! Neek was just havin' sum fun!"

"Didn't seem all that fun if ya ask me." Keith replied, handing Ellis the cap.

Nick narrowed his eyes as Keith made his way back to Karin, standing a little too close to her for his own comfort. Before his eyes, he saw the hick slip his arm around her waist, and his blood boiled.

"Neek...yew okay? Yew look all red!" Ellis said, watching as Nick's face reddened with anger.

"That man's just _begging_ for a major ass-whooping." He growled.

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**_

"The plantation house!" Karin exclaimed, moving from Keith's helping hold to point out the now vivid, large house just a couple yards away. Nick gave out a sigh of relief, readjusting the axe he held tightly onto to his right shoulder. "Goddamnit finally!"

Keith slung Karin's arm around his shoulder again, wrapping a toned arm around her waist, which sent another angry wave through Nick again. He had the talk with Keith...well more like a threatening discussion with him, and yet he still seemed to think he could do whatever the hell he wanted!

"Neek...yer sister's a big gurl...she can dew what she wants." Ellis whispered, rubbing the small of his back as they walked behind the group. Nick nodded to himself, biting his lip so he wouldn't mutter profanities.

The group made it into the house, after climbing a ladder into one of the windows on the second floor, and were now standing on the upstairs balcony overlooking the large land in front of them.

"I'm gonna go check out the gate over there." Coach stated, heading down the peeling wooden stairs down to the porch, making his way around the headges as the team above shot down hiding Infected. It took a while before Coach was back running up the stairs, sweat beading on his brow. "Well, there's a radio down there n' there's some man drivin' a boat. I talked to him and told him where we're at, he's comin' soon."

Karin nodded, understanding. This seemed simple enough, just wait until rescue arrives...that is until she heard the screams and roars of nearly hundreds of infected echo around the large concrete fence around the Plantation.

She went pale with fright, and Ellis let out a "WHOOP" of excitement. Nick leaned down over to Karin, laughing and stating, "Never witnessed a giant-ass Infected horde, have ya sis?"

"...No." She responded, pale-faced and wide-eyed.

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**_

"YEAAAA man this is suh much better than huntin'!" Keith whooped, sending another round of his Machine Gun into the crawling horde of Infected that scaled the roof and walls. Karin was petrified, to be honest, as she unhooked a pipe bomb from her waist, lit it, and sent it out down below where a couple first AID kits lay. Like a dog being distracted by a chew toy, the entire horde that was on her ass whipped themselves around and jumped to the ground 15 feet below.

"Everybody down!" Nick exclaimed, throwing himself to the ground (of course bringing Ellis with him). Everyone fled, Coach not being fast enough and stumbling along the ground as the explosion shook the building.

It had been about 5 minutes into the endless rain of zombies before Rochelle chimed in, "We better get to the gate now!" Karin felt herself grow frightened as Keith grabbed a hold of her arm and ran down the stairs behind Rochelle. Nick and Ellis followed behind them, and finally Coach. "I hate stairs." He grumbled as he got off the last step, slamming his frying pan into an Infected that was too close to comfort.

"Come on!" Rochelle hollered, taking off at full speed toward the gat that sat all the way across the field. "I hate running too!" Coach chimed in behind the group as they fought back dozens and dozens of Infected.

Suddenly, Karin felt dread fill her body up so fast she felt her head spin, and she whipped around to the group that was quickly giving distance from her. "G-guys…" She gasped, letting Keith's hand slip from his fingers. He halted, turning around.

"G-GUYS!" She screamed, grabbing there attention as she frantically pointed to the concrete wall. Well…what was left, because now there was a giant Tank smashing his giant fists through it, running right at Karin herself.

Nick felt himself scream out, removing himself from Ellis's side and sprinting toward her, ignoring the claws that tried ripping at his jacket. "RUN KARIN!" He screamed, gaining speed slowly but surely. The Tank was coming so close to her, and she just stood there.

She was frightened…so he understood. "KARIN! RUN! GODDAMNIT!" He screamed. He was about there.

Karin's eyes were wide, her face was pale, and she couldn't take her eyes off the giant monster that gained speed as he spotted her small form just standing in the open, begging to be ripped apart. The Tank let out a guttural scream, lifting his fists into the air, about to bring them down on her. She heard Keith scream, which brought her back to reality. But she was too late. She couldn't run, the Tank was too close for her to flee and make it. She felt another screamed before she felt force on her side, hitting her head to the ground and having her world turn off…

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**_

"Karin…? Can you hear me?" It was Keith. Why did he sound scared? Karin opened an eye, wincing when she snapped it open. Why was there so much pain? She could hear Nick freaking out somewhere near her, and she felt his presence after Keith smiled and hollered, "THANK GOD!"

"Wh-" She started, but it hurt too much to even speak, so she just lay there, in a place she didn't even know. All she did know was that there a distant drumming of a motor.

Nick stood over her, and she opened her other eye slowly, blinking and look up at Nick's face. He was red…had he been crying? Of course not…he never cries. Ellis was next to him, looking down at her with almost as much fear and shock as Nick.

Nick bowed his head, "I'm so sorry, I tried helping you before that…thing got you!" Suddenly, she remembered. The last thing she saw was the Tank bringing his fists into the air above his head, and that was it. She suddenly panicked, propping up on her elbows to see the damage.

She had a blanket covering her up to her stomach, and she felt her stomach to flip flops. "H-How…" She began, but felt Keith's comforting hands push her back onto the desk she was laying on and shushed her. "Yer okay, we're just gettin' to a safe house and everything will be okay."

Karin nodded, laying her head back and closing her eyes. But she knew, and everyone knew, that things were not going to be okay. She could hear it in his grief stricken voice.


	2. Infection

Nick sat next to Karin the entire boat ride to the next destination. He could see the bridge off in the far off distance…and that small flickering candle of hope burned in his chest. "N-N…" Karin began, but Nick softly pet her hair as she tried to catch breath. Her head was rested on his thigh, and her eyes kept flickering open, and then closed again.

Keith sat on the other side of her, his head in his hands and his body stiff as a board. No one wanted to speak, and nothing was heard from anyone except the occasional shush from Nick or a choked up breath from Keith.

"Might take 'nother hour er so guys so jus' hang in there!" The driver stated. As he said it, Ellis looked out of the window to view the scenery. The clouds were becoming black and menacing over the boat. "Looks like it's gonna piss down out there." Nick mumbled, seeing Ellis's face turn into a state of despair.

Coach rubbed his forehead, finishing his can of refried beans, "I can't walk any better in the rain and mud, guys." Rochelle sighed loudly, propping her feet up on a crate. Everything was quiet for a couple more minutes when the air became full of the smell of rotting flesh and blood, and Ellis covered his nose and mouth, his eyes narrowing.

"Goddamnit." Nick snarled, hiding his nose and mouth in his blue undershirt collar. And to everyone's dismay, the boat suddenly slowed to a complete stop. Keith lifted his head as he felt the motion of the ship suddenly stop completely and looked up, tears staining his dirty cheeks and his eyes red from rubbing them.

Nick cast a glance at Keith, silent anger on his face, and leaned out through the window of the boat, "What's the hold up?" He called, being careful not to call out too loudly as to warn any infected that could be lurking through the water.

"Aye, the motor ran outa gas!" The man declared. Nick's stomach fell, and he turned back to his team with fear and cold dread in his gaze. Keith sighed, rubbing his forehead and moving to Karin, kneeling next to her and feeling her forehead.

He gulped suddenly and lowered his head a bit, staring off at the wooden floor. "What er we gonna to do?" He asked softly, staring up at Nick. Tears rimmed his eyes again and Nick could only feel his heart ache for how horrid the man must feel. And to tell him the truth, he felt the same.

"Well…we might as well help the damn guy…" He poked his head out through the window, "Can you get us as close to the pier as you can?"

The driver gave a whoop (hopefully meaning yes), and let the current push him toward the shore. Keith grabbed Karin gingerly, carefully cradling her in his arms as Nick glared at Keith for a moment and looked away quickly, as to not meet his eyes.

Ellis was the first to hit land, swinging his low ammo weapon from his back and aiming it at the infected that noticed him too close to them. "There's a fas' food res'raunt over 'ere!" Ellis called over to the other, clearing the way for them of infected.

They slowly made their way into the abandoned restaurant, with the windows busted or completely obliterated, and the tables strewn along the walls and the chairs out in the street. Coach walked over to the giant fridge in the kitchen. He opened it, surprised the light still came on a soft wind of cold came out. "Oh my god…Peach COBBLER!" He exclaimed, grabbing it and letting the team grab slices of the treat.

Keith rested Karin's form on the counter carefully, lifting up her jeans to show her bare legs. They were battered and bruised, and just by touching them Keith knew they were broken. Let's just hope they weren't shattered…

He wrapped her right leg tightly in bandages, going to the next leg and doing the same. He quietly did this as Ellis finished his piece of cobbler. Him and Nick were behind the counter, hidden from view of the others, and Nick laughed, "Got some cobbler on your chin."

"Oi…" Ellis said, grabbing a napkin. Nick tossed the napkin from his grasp, leaning down and licking up the stray food from his chin and kissing him deeply on the lips. Ellis blushed darkly, moving away from his grasp and pulling away as Rochelle rounded the corner.

"Guys, we have to wait her a bit longer. Karin's injury needs to be looked at before we go find gas."

Nick nodded, grabbing Ellis's hand and moving out to where Karin lay. Keith was looking down at her, his face solemn and his eyes closed.

"How is she?" Nick whispered, patting Keith on the shoulder. He never thought he'd **ever **do that to the annoying hick, but right now things were changing…drastically.

He took in a breath, rubbing his forehead from sweat and suddenly choked out, with tears flowing down his cheeks. "She's Infected."

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**_

The words sent sheer terror and indescribable despair ripping through Nick's being. He went pale, his heart lurching in his chest as he grabbed it and leaned onto Ellis for support. The shock hurt him in so many ways, and Ellis yelped in surprise, helping him up again. For the first time in his 32 years of living, he had found a member of his family that didn't….want to kill him…

He had found a family member he had learned to love! Now…that feeling was being ripped from him again so quickly. Coach looked to the ground in despair, moving to the kitchen and grabbing his Machine Gun that lay next to the fridge. Nick turned to Coach, his eyes widening as he saw the man load up the gun, cock it, and aim it straight at Karin, whose quiet form lay on the counter.

"**NO**!" Nick screamed, lunging forward, smacking the gun upwards as a round of bullets went off on the ceiling. "Nick!" Coach snapped, stumbling back from the gambler's sudden and brute force. Nick's eyes were bloodshot, and his eyebrows were furrowed down to complete and utter anger.

"Do that again….and I'll aim that fucking gun at your **head**." He growled deep in his throat, slamming the gun to the ground with a loud CLANG. Coach just stood there, nothing but shock in his gaze. He turned to Keith, who held gingerly in his hand one of Karin's. She was horribly pale, and small warts started to taint her skin.

Both of her eyes had started to glow yellow, and her teeth has sharpened to dangerous fangs that lined her mouth. She only stared at Nick, her mind still sane from this transformation. Her sanity will be the last to go, Nick was sure, and so she was just lying there helpless as her mind would be taken over by this horrid infection.

"Karin….we're gonna get help, okay? You just stay with me." Nick soothed, rubbing her shoulder as she choked on a sudden Hunter snarl, nodding. Keith grabbed Karin in his hold, looking at Nick as if he was waiting for the natural leader to say something.

Nick looked around him, Rochelle (who was in the corner with tears brimming her eyes and her mouth blocked by a hand), Ellis who was coming toward Nick as if to comfort him, and Coach who kept his gaze to the ground in shame. "Overalls 2." He commanded, turning to Keith as he looked up into his eyes with fear.

"I don't want to risk getting Karin even more fucked up, so take her back to the boat and you _stay with her._" He said, pointing toward the boat a little ways away. Keith, even though he didn't want to leave his new friends, nodded and got Karin more comfortably in his hold.

Her milky yellow eyes swiveled at Nick, her eyes (although they barely could detect emotion) flickered with sadness and pain and Nick smiled just barely, turning around to the dark clouds that roared overhead. "Niccchh…" Karin mumbled, and Nick's felt himself go rigid.

He turned back to Karin, his eyes softening. He was exhausted, and he could barely step one foot in front of the other, but he would go to the ends of this hell they called earth to get away from the danger. He just wanted to live like a human again…

"Come on, Karin sweety…we're just going to rest in the boat." Keith whispered soothingly to Karin as he slowly headed back to the boat. Nick smiled, but just barely, he knew Keith was trying to be accepted by him, and he respected that…

"Alright, Overalls," Nick stated, moving over and grabbing the hick's hand. Coach and Rochelle exchanged surprised glances at each other, and Nick grumbled, "I don't give a fuck anymore…"

With that, Nick moved in and planted an affectionate kiss on Ellis's lips, slowly moving away and casting a glance back at Coach, who looked disgusted on top of everything.  
>"Don't like it?" Nick began, "Suck my balls." With that, he headed out in front of the other two into the awaiting rain.<p>

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**_

Karin was sitting up inside the boat, her milky yellow eyes staring at the opposite wall. Keith sat next to her, a foot apart from her turning body. He was honestly afraid to touch her, in fear her body would react violently and she'd kill him.

She let a growl emit from her throat, barely audible for Keith to understand what it was. She looked down at her hands…no _claws. _She looked them over, how the nails lengthened to sharp claws and her hands curled profusely. She choked on another growl, letting her claws drop down to her lap.

"Karin…are you feeling okay?" Keith asked slowly, watching her snap her head over to him. Her eyes seemed to glisten with pain. "Shoot….me." She whispered. Keith felt himself go completely still, and he shook his head.

"Do it." She said, her voice on the verge of becoming masked by the growls of the Infected. Keith shook his head again, getting onto his knees and cupping her head in his hands. "No way in hell am I doin' that."

She let out a gargled scream and shoved him down against the growl, her voice masked with the sounds of the Hunter, her eyes completely yellow is if her eyes were a pool of nothingness. She grabbed a hold of his neck as she wrestled him down and grabbed the handgun from his holster.

"NO!" Keith screamed as she kicked him away and fled to the window. Her eyes glared down at the gun, pointing it toward the back of her throat. She tasted the rusty metal of the gun against her tongue, and aimed the handgun up at the roof of her mouth.

"KARIN!" Keith screamed, scrambling to his feet and slamming into her. She was knocked to the ground, her grip still on the handgun. "Iffk yer not gonna do it…I willll…" She growled, her voice starting to make sharp clicks and growls at the end of her words.

Keith ripped the gun from her strong, clawed grip and threw it out of the open window. He knew what risks he was pulling, getting rid of the handgun, but he had the other gun behind his back and he wouldn't let Karin take it from him. He grabbed her wrists, shoving her back into the cold metal ground of the boat.

She was pinned, and all she could do was snarl and growl. Her back legs were strong, but after much fussing and struggling, Keith had her absolutely pinned. "Ifffk you love meee….do ittttk…" She growled, her milky yellow eyes glaring up at him.

He gulped in a breath, looking at her. Those words…how they toyed with his mind. He should just end her probably physical and mental pain here and now, with just one pull of a trigger…

His mind flickered to Nick, and how he would react to seeing his sister's dead floating body going slowly down the current when he returned. The bastard might just kill him where he stood. He sighed, he really did carry strong feelings for Karin, but all other options aside, he couldn't kill her. Even if Nick wouldn't get angry…he still couldn't do it.

"No...nd I mean no." Keith retorted.

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**_

When Nick and the others went into a safe house, he was pummeled by so many questions he couldn't answer all in time before another came plundering his way.

"_YOU AND ELLIS? EXPLAIN THIS!_" Rochelle snapped, her eyes narrowing to express her anger and surprise. Coach was standing next to her, his arms crossed. Ellis found refuge behind Nick, his eyes not meeting the others'.

"Have a problem?" Nick asked coldly, his lips a thin line and his green eyes glaring at the two who stood before him. Rochelle was taken aback, her eyes glaring at the taller man. "You kept this from us? _WHY?_"

Nick rolled his eyes, his throat screaming to tell them off, but he knew better not to do that, and just kept silent.

"Is there somethin' wrong wit' me an' Neek togeth'r?" Ellis whispered shyly, looking at Rochelle with hurt in his gaze. Rochelle felt guilty at her sudden outburst and suddenly, her voice changed from hysterical to soft, "No no, sweetheart! It's just…It's just I…"

She met Nick's cold gaze and silenced herself. Then, the gambler turned to Coach, who still had his arms crossed and his eyes closed. "And what's your reason, Coach?"

Coach sighed, looking at Nick who towered at the same height as him. "It's just…wrong."

Nick felt himself bubble up with so much anger and he about went ballistic on the man. He shoved him backward, watching as the man crashed to the ground with a loud THUD. Rochelle gasped, running to Coach who slowly sat up. "Don't you dare ever **fucking say that**!" Nick snarled. Ellis grabbed onto Nick's hand, and they met eyes. "Stop eet, Neek…" Ellis whispered, his voice cracked with a different sense of fear. "He can think what he wan's….but he can't stop us frum bein' tuhgeth'r…"

Nick felt himself calm from Ellis's soothing touch and tone, and turned back to Coach, guilt in his eyes. "I'm so sorry, Coach. Here let me…" He went to grab the man's hand, but Coach smacked it away. "I don't need your damn help." He snarled, standing up himself.

"I ain't old, and I don't need some sarcastic asshole helping me with anything." He snapped. With that, Coach moved over to where the ammo lay out on a table and took his share.

The gambler turned back to Rochelle, who had her eyes cast down at the ground. Before Nick could apologize to her as well, she moved up to Nick and whispered, "I'll take your apology on Coach's behalf." And she too moved away and grabbed herself some supplies.

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**_

Nick's axe jutted into the Hunter's head before it had a time to react. "Fucker." Nick scowled, wrenching the weapon out of the monster's head and flicking the blood from the blade. He was in a bullshit mood, and not even Ellis could comfort him.

The rain was coming down hard, so hard he couldn't see anything in front of him. The road was filling with water fast, and if they didn't find a house to refuge in, they'd be fucked. Big time.

He cursed aloud, feeling an Infected rake its fragile claws across the back of his suit. The feeling vanished as Ellis shot it square in the temple, the head practically bursting from the blow. Blood caked his suit and he cursed again, the feeling of the warm fluid making his body feel horrid.

"Yew okay Neek?" Ellis asked, coming up to him and looking up at his distressed face. The gambler ran a hand through his hair and grumbled, "Let's just find shelter."

He trudged off through the muck and water toward the silhouette of a house not far off. It stood on pegs, towering over the increasing water line. The gambler climbed the peeling wooden stairs up onto the porch, flicking his light onto bright as he opened the door to the darkness of the house.

Not a sound was heard, not even the gibberish of hidden Infected. He checked every door and, after finding no enemies in any of the rooms, sat down on the couch that lay strewn in the kitchen.

He leaned back, catching his breath as the others made it inside. Rochelle shut the door, coming over to the kitchen as well and looking through the cabinets. "All empty." She stated, slamming the last cupboard closed just before a lightning bolt struck off in the distance and the wind started to pick up.

"Jesus Christ!" Nick snapped, sitting up and grabbing his Assault Rifle from the ground. The distant chanting of Infected filled the air, and it wasn't long before their claws tried ripping through the wood of the door.

Ellis fired off his AK-47 out into the horde as they tried to desperately come into the abandoned house. It wasn't long before the horde was only a bloody silent pile on the doorstep.

The storm passed quickly, everything calming down and the rain battering on the roof again without any lightning or wind. Nick got up out of the cushions of the couch and opened the door to the porch. The bodies smelled of rotting flesh and sickness…like a sour meat.

He covered his nose and mouth with his untucked shirt collar and stepped over the bodies, making his way down the stairs back into the muddy mess.

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**_

She was losing herself. She would go through phases of talking normally to Keith, to suddenly snarling and beating him to the ground. Keith luckily had never once had to use his gun as protection, because she'd always find herself before she could attack him.

She'd go from crying and wallowing in pain, so anger and regret of ever freezing in the way of that Tank. She'd become silent in her thoughts, then suddenly outburst with curses. Keith had to constantly hold her in his arms to keep her from grabbing his gun and ending her life. He agreed with Nick…he didn't want her to die. He didn't want to kill her. They'd get through this…

After a long while (about an hour or maybe more) of keeping Karin in place in Keith's lap, his muscles aching with pain of trying to keep her down, Karin finally fell asleep in his hold. He gave out a breath of relief and exhaustion, his mind swimming and his eyes barely keeping open. He looked at Karin's peaceful yet mutated face, feeling tears meet his eyes.

He had never fully cried when Karin changed, and now the feeling was overwhelming me as he saw Karin's changing body before him, and there was nothing he could do.

As he swept his hands through her soft, dark chocolate hair, he felt the first few tears sweep down his chin, and he let himself go, crouching protectively over Karin and letting all the emotions spilling out. Tears flowed down his face, splashing on Karin's jacket and he let out an agonized groan, feeling his emotions explode inside of him.

He clutched her in his hold, curled against the corner of the room, listening to the thundering storm outside. His voice choked in his throat and he let his head fall back against the wall of the room inside the boat. As he let his emotions flow over the top and pour out of him like a waterfall, he thought just barely… _I'm gonna lose myself with Karin…we might lose ourselves together…_

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**_

The team had gotten the gas cans, and was halfway back to the boat. The Sugar mill was dark and cold, with rain leaking through every crack in the foundation and witches around EVERY CORNER. Nick couldn't stay in a spot for more than 10 seconds before he heard the sob of a witch and had to follow his teammates around the crying infected so as to not disturb her.

Nick soon gained control of leading the group, making it to the trailer next to the big buildings full what he probably thought would be water. The rain was starting to come down even harder, and water leaked through a hole in the trailer.

"Pills." Nick stated, snatching the container of pain meds and opening the door again to the battering rain. It was getting worse out there, Nick knew, and he had to desperately get back for Karin.

He started out, sticking to the sides of the crumbling brick walls and barbed wire as to not meet as many Infected as possible. As he rounded a corner, he heard a disturbing, gargling cough, and felt the breath come flying from his chest as a strong muscle wrapped around his chest and lift him into the air.

His shoes and pant legs left the water and he dangled there struggling for a moment before Rochelle fired her gun at the roof of the sugar mill, letting Nick fall 3 feet to the murky water. He was helped up by Ellis, and Nick smiled at the hick before he wiped himself off and readied his gun.

"I am not stopping until we get back to the fast food restaurant." Nick stated, pouring himself some pain pills and downing them, straightening his posture and limping down toward another trailer a ways away. Ellis sighed, following close behind, followed by Rochelle and Coach.

"That dumbass just never gives up." Coach mumbled.

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**_

Nick thought he'd never see the building that marked the fast food restaurant. When he saw it, his mind cleared itself of the fog and he limped down the wooden plank that leaned against the bent forward metal fence that kept the houses and road apart from each other.

They were so close to getting back to Karin and Keith, to safety… If only Nick could somehow heal himself without the Health Pack and suddenly grow wings and fly down to the fucking boat, he would have.

But sadly, even though zombies were nipping at his ankles, this was reality. His mind reeled to the zombie movies that would appear on TV and how Nick would sarcastically laugh and say how stupid and unrealistic the movies were.

"_There's no way that this could be possible!"_ He could hear his old 16 year old self say if he was in this situation. "_Whoever believes this shit needs to get help._"

Ellis had grown quiet when they finally arrived to the restaurant. He didn't want to speak, which was a surprise to everyone in a group. They took their time picking through the fast food restaurant, finding little supplies and snacks to bring with them on the boat ride to the bridge. Rain was pouring outside, and everyone was afraid another blinding storm would come in.

Nick raised his head through the window to look up at the sky through the dampened trees, squinting his eyes. "We have to hurry." He stated, grabbing a handful of pills in his coat and stuffing a pile of boomer puke into his jacket pocket.

"We gotta hurry!" He hollered as he kicked the back door open to the dock where the boat was stationed. Rochelle struggled with an extra first AID kit she carried in her right hand and more ammo in the other hand. Her hair clung to her face, and she gave out a frustrated cry as her foot twisted underneath her from an upturned root and she fell to the mud and muck.

Coach knelt down, grabbing her wrist gently and helping her to her feet. She held her breath, letting the pain of her ankle wash through her, trying to ignore the pain. Nick had stopped a moment to look behind him and (although his eyes were narrowed) there was obvious concern.

"Oh sheet…" Ellis mumbled, looking up into the sky. Nick could feel the air shift and change, and dread washed over his body as he cast a glance toward the restaurant. The wind was picking up, and hot humid air slapped his face. The wind howled, and lightning struck angrily in the background.

The ground then started to shake.

"**RUN!" **Nick screamed, turning on his heel frantically as a Tank screamed in anger, running from the roof of the building toward them.

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**_

The boat was silent, other than the roaring rain outside, for the longest time. Karin was constantly fighting her infection, holding back from attacking Keith.

The hick was hurting inside and out. The scars of Karin's claws from the relentless hours of holding her back from going ballistic gave him scars he would never wash from his arms…or his mind.

She was curled up in the opposite corner of the boat, her back to Keith and her form curled up like a cat's. She was breathing raggedly, like she was trying to struggle against something (obvious enough that being the Infected and urge to kill).

The rain just then started to pick up outside, drawing Keith's attention from Karin's form to the small round window in the room inside the boat. He peered through the window, eyeing the dirt road and the dock in front of him.

He squinted his eyes as the wind and rain began to pour down angrily, not knowing what was out there. It took a moment until he realized the four forms out there were his teammates'.

His heart raced drastically, the excitement of seeing that they were still very much alive and finally back making him nervously run to get his magnum.

As he rushed to grab his weapon, he felt the ground give a shudder underneath his feet, and he paused before grabbing the discarded weapon that was thrown to the corner opposite of Karin.

He stood back up slowly, looking out of the tiny window of the boat to the outside. The ground gave another (and larger) shudder, waking Karin from her troubled slumber.

She snapped her hooded gaze toward the window, her nose twitching and a low growl rumbling from her throat. Keith paused when he noticed her awakening and watched her as she stood up on her two feet, shoulders hunched, and crept to the window.

She sniffed through the window, letting out an ear-shattering screech. "NEEECHHHK!" She screamed, and with that, she leaped through the window into the storm.

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**_

Nick saw the Tank come storming down from the roof rather quickly, making a run right toward him. His breath caught in his throat as he dived out of the way, loading up his gun and firing bullets into the beast's back.

The Tank roared its disapproval and turned sharply back around for Nick, its twisted face letting out a guttural scream.

Nick loaded another round as he ran back to the restaurant, Ellis sending a round of his Machine Gun into the beast. "OVER 'ERE YA BIG SHEET!" Ellis screamed, throwing a Molotov out toward the Tank. The glass bottle burst on one of the Tank's massive shoulders, flames licking the monster's body and engulfing it in flame.

Rochelle took refuge behind a bush, sending bullets from her Pistol at the Tank as the beast ran in a circle, confused on whom to target and attack first. He paused at Ellis, its milky yellow eyes targeting him and making a run at him, his burning body being put out by the falling rain.

"ELLIS!" Nick screamed, tossing a Bile Bomb out to where the Tank was charging at the hick. The bile cracked against one of its legs, letting the slimy, acrid smelling liquid cake the monster's legs and buttocks.

The roar of the Infected sounded in the distance and Coach let another round of his magnum go off before he disappeared with Rochelle behind one of the large tree trunks near the dock.

The Tank angrily turned to Nick, its tongue lolling out of its half rotted face and its giant fists pounding against the ground as it ran toward the gambler. Nick turned pale, his back against the wall of the fast food building and his weapon now entirely cleared of ammo.

As the Tank was about three feet from the frightened gambler, he heard a screech echo down the dock. He didn't think anything of it, as he gulped fearfully and stood up tall, closing his eyes.

"This is for Karin, sick bastards." Nick whimpered.

The heard the Tank give out an angry scream, but nothing was slammed into Nick's body. Nothing crushed him and ripped his body to shreds. He opened an eyes, looking at the scene before him in total shock.

A hunter had dug its claws into the Tank's shoulder, ripping its claws deep into the fiery red flesh of the Tank. The monster gave an angry roar, throwing its fists into the air, but was vulnerable to the Hunter that repeatedly scored deep claws into the Tank.

Nick stared at the Hunter, and felt himself almost faint from shock and surprise as the Hunter sent its gaze toward Nick and screamed, "NEEEECCCHHHK!"

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**_

Before the team knew it, the Tank was dead. It's scarred and bloody body was face down in the mixture of mud and blood. Karin stood atop the Tank's body, her bloody body (luckily just the Tank's blood) glistening in the receding rain. Everything was quiet…until Coach stood up slowly, eyeing Karin and pulling his gun out, cocking it and aiming it carefully at the hunter.

Karin snapped her gaze to Coach, baring her fangs and crouching on all fours. Her back legs pushed underneath her, springing her forward about fifteen feet toward Coach's destination. She extended her claws, digging into Coach's shoulders as his gun flew from his hand and slid through the mud near the dock.

She dug her claws into Coach's flesh, screaming and ripping them quickly to the side. He let out a scream in pain, trying to kick and push her off. He was pinned. Rochelle grabbed Coach's magnum, swinging the gun back to smash it into the hunter's spine.

She never got to, because Nick ran quickly to her, knocking the gun from her grasp and shoving Karin off of Coach, his gun aimed at her chest as he pushed he down into the dirt. She let a growl slip from her lips, but halted when she saw who held the magnum.

Nick stared coldly into Karin's covered face, his gun never leaving its target. Coach got up slowly, with the help of Rochelle and Ellis. "That bitch got me." He struggled to say, leaning against the tree to get support.

Nick let the gun lower and glared back at Coach. "It was self-defense."

Rochelle's eyebrows furrowed down and her face twisted into rage. "Are you MAD? SHE JUST PRACTICALLY RIPPED HIM INTO RIBBONS! HOW COULD YOU TAKE SIDES WITH THIS…THIS MONSTER!"

Nick went silent, along with everyone else. The gambler couldn't believe what he had just heard. His eyes flickered down to Coach, and then to his sister, who was laying in the mud with a growling mumbling from her throat.

"She still has her sanity…doesn't she?" Nick began, turning his full attention on the news woman. She felt her confidence melt away, and her face fell from anger to concern.

"Well I—" She began.

"If she was a total **monster** she would have just pinned me down and ripped me apart just then, right?" He advanced on her, and he had to have a gentle push from Ellis to come back to his senses. He was just so shocked and angry; he didn't notice how scary he was making himself toward the younger woman and the injured man before him.

"Neek….yew need tuh calm down…" Ellis murmured, pushing him back farther. Nick blinked slowly, rubbing an eye and staring at Ellis for a moment. "Overalls…"

"I know she's yer sis n' such…but yew need to show sum sympathy…" He continued. He was trying his hardest not to be angry with Nick, his voice only a murmur and his eyes swimming with pain. Nick bowed his head, feeling himself give off a shudder of his shoulders. He was so close to losing himself here in the rain.

He was about to throw himself against Ellis and sob. He was at the end of his rope. He needed peace…for just an hour. He just needed a moment where everything was perfect.

He needed Karin back to her old self. He wanted to have a nice place to relax with Ellis in his lap, reading a book and listening to the rain (nothing BUT the rain) outside his window. He let a tear fall down his face, knowing that opportunity might never come along now.

Now that the end of the world was practically upon them, now that **every fucking thing **was coming to an end did he find someone he cared about. He found a sister…a living breathing relative that didn't want to kill him. He found someone closer than a friend. Closer than a hooker he calls to his room.

He found someone who didn't just use him for money of cigars or alcohol. This man knew everything was going to end, and he still cared about Nick as much as his ex-wives wanted him dead.

As he felt his emotions drain from his body, he heard a commotion from the boat resting at the dock, and the other hick scrambling his way across the wooden pier to the others.

His face was pale and worry was in his eyes. He looked over at Karin, who was crouched on all fours glaring at the others behind a hooded gaze. When she met Keith's eyes, she peered up at him and hissed, "Kiiithhhhk."

Keith let a smile creep up on his face as he crouched down to her level. "Yup…it's me, kid." He looked up at the others, seeing Coach's hurt condition. "Whoa what the hell happened to him?"

Nick narrowed his eyes at the airhead and growled, "You didn't heard the fucking Tank?" Keith's eyes widened. "What? A course I did! I was goin' to come out 'ere, but the driver of tha boat wouldn't let me out there aft'r Karin decided tuh play 'superman'! I had tuh find a way tuh sneak out nd help you guys in any way I could."

Nick rolled his eyes, wiping away the tears that stained his dirty cheeks. "Let's just get back to the boat." He murmured. Keith nodded, kneeling down to Coach and helping the ripped man up. "Man, who the hell did that tuh yew?" Keith chimed as he helped the bloody man into the boat.

Coach sent a cold glare to Karin, who followed the group stubbornly behind. She let a hiss escape her throat in response, climbing into the boat and curling herself in the dark corner of the room.

Nick collapsed on a crate of boxes, his muscles aching with pain. He never wanted to see another fucking zombie again, but his wishes wouldn't be answered obviously. He'd see another zombie or two in the next hour or so as they journeyed further toward the bridge.

He tightened his fists into knuckles, thinking about how close they were. They needed to hurry. They needed to get Karin help, and fast, before she turned completely rouge.

Doubt ebbed his train of thought, sadly, as he thought of the negative possibilities that could occur when they arrived to safety. The CEDA idiots could kill Karin without a second thought. They could leave her behind, saying she could not be saved.

His stomach did lurches every time he thought of different possibilities, but was subdued when Ellis took a seat next to him and lifted up his light blue undershirt. "Yer booboos are deep, Neek. Let Doctor El fix ya up." He smiled, softly applying the medicine to his wounds. Nick shivered softly at his touch and let a smile creep up on his face.

Everything will be fine…he knew it. _Yea, because everything was going okay before this shit happened. Now it'll go just as planned. _

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**_

The team had taken turns on watch in pairs that night, except for Nick who wanted to be alone that night. Ellis looked at him softly before they went to sleep, his arms slinking around the gambler's waist.

"Neek…everyone cares 'bout yew…they really dew…just please don' do anythin' stupid…" He murmured. They were sitting behind a tower of crates (with God knew what in them) and away from the others.

Nick closed his eyes momentarily, bringing the hick into his lap and pressing the younger man against the crates. "Neek what're yew—" Ellis began, but was silenced with Nick's lips smashes roughly to his.

Ellis tightened his grip around Nick's neck, his eyes widening, but he relaxed a moment, giving into the forceful kiss. Nick worked his way up the hick's back, rubbing his fingertips against the hick's bare back.

He needed just a few moments of carelessness…just one moment. He pressed the hick even more against the crates, breaking the romantic kiss and making his way to his neck. It took all of Ellis's strength to get out what he wanted to say.

"N-Neek! S-Stop now!" He breathed, squirming in the older man's lap. He was dark red, his voice coming out choppy. The gambler ignored his command, lifting the hick's hips up so he could get his mouth around the man's shoulder blades and chest.

"N-Neek!" Ellis breathed, not letting a moan escape his lips. He had to be honest with himself…he enjoyed this just as much as Nick probably was enjoying this, but this wasn't the time. Nick shouldn't be doing this. He shouldn't be thinking this will resolve all of his problems.

"Neek…I SAID NO!" Ellis snapped, shoving Nick back against the ground and squirming from his hard grip. Ellis pulled his shirt back down, covering his bare stomach and rubbing his neck.

Nick propped up on his elbows, his eyes lidded and half closed. He eyed Ellis with a cold stern glare, and got back up. "Fine." His voice was cold and half-hearted as he got up to help the others with setting out the sleeping bags.

Ellis leaned against the crates, his mind swimming with confusion. That moment there…was just so different for Ellis. The closeness he's never felt before, he just experienced with the man he thought hated him from the beginning.

"Hey there, kid." Keith chimed in, peeking from the other side of the crate to see the hick sitting alone in the corner. "Yew know yer sittin' in Karin's spot." He chuckled, outstretching a hand to the younger hick.

Ellis grabbed it, standing up and straightening his shirt down back to normal. He leaned against the crate again, crossing his arms in a stubborn like stance. Suddenly, almost making him jump in his boots, he heard his friend start chuckling.

"What is it?" Ellis asked, noticing his older friend was laughing at him. Keith covered his mouth, a blush covering his cheeks and his chuckle growing into a full laugh. He heartedly slapped his knee and stated, "Yew got a hickey on yer neck there, kid!"


	3. Facing Facts

The boat came up gradually up to the next pier. It was clear outside, not a cloud in sight. Nick nodded to himself, accepting the fact that no problem with the rain will be presented to him or his teammates, and got his weapons together.

The piled out of the boat, landing on dry land. Karin had fallen asleep again, so Keith had to grab her and carry her out, which would have been the best idea, because everyone knew an awake Karin would reject to the idea of going anywhere with them the minute she was let out into the outside world.

Ellis was rubbing his neck, trying to stretch his collar up over the hickey, but to no avail.

"This is as far as I can get ya to. I'm sure ya'll can get there from 'ere." The driver of the old fishing boat declared through his megaphone. Ellis set his gun down against the railing wall that led up to the main street. "It's a'ight!" He hollered, waving as the man put his boat forward and went off down the large river, "Thanks fer the gas!" He called back.

Karin shifted in Keith's hold a moment, but growled softly and sunk even more into his arms. Keith stared down at her form, his lips trembling with something he wanted to say, but couldn't. She looked so innocent, with her face so peaceful and quiet, with her eyes closed and her mouth kept at almost a smile.

Keith felt his throat tighten up and he looked back up at the group. Nick was busy loading rounds into his gun and putting extra clips into his pockets. He wasn't in the mood to be bothered right now, and everyone knew of it. Not even Ellis could go to Nick right now without getting his damn head torn off.

Coach was the leader this time, and walked up the walkway into the main street on New Orleans. Zombies were pacing the streets and sidewalks, leaning against overturned cars and against walls that looked absolutely gutted out. Nick got onto his knee, aiming carefully at a crowd of zombies fighting amongst themselves, and fired.

The force of the gun sent him sprawling back against Ellis, who caught the gambler just in time before he could hit his head on the concrete. "We gotta be careful around here." Coach mumbled, looking around at the cars. He walked over to one that was turned over on its side and looked inside, "This one is still on, so be careful cause ya'll might hit one and the alarm could go off."

As they made their way carefully around the cars, picking their way around dead bodies and gasoline fluid, they heard a distant whooshing sound whistle through the air. Keith paused as he was helped over a pile of bodies by Ellis, "Did ya'll hear any a'that?" He whispered, his body shivering as the whistling stopped when a dark shadow spread across the entire portion of the street.

Turned out, it was a fighter jet. "Who in the hell?" Coach called, as the jet flew overhead. It dropped a large black metal object in the distance. A second later, a large explosion was heard, and the ground shook below their feet.

"Shit!" Nick called as he knocked an angered zombie back. "The jets are pissing off these goddamned zombies!" He rammed the back of his gun into the neck of a tumbling zombie and kicked it back as blood sprayed against a car.

"Let's get out of here!" Keith hollered, adjusting his hold on Karin, who was still sound asleep in his hold as he took off with Rochelle and Ellis behind him. Nick was in front of him, firing off his gun at the awaiting horde that was heading toward them all too angrily.

"So I guess they gave up on saving people huh?" Rochelle stated, bashing her metal pan against a female zombie's head all too hard, sending its split open, bloody head against the pavement. Parts of brain and some yellow substance leaked out of the dead woman's head and dripped down close to Rochelle's shoe and she cringed away from the liquid.

Keith snorted and halted in his footsteps. He felt vulnerable not having his weapon, and he hoped he could switch being the carrier soon, because without a gun in his hand and just a fast asleep hunter could mean bad things both ways. He didn't know if Karin would all of a sudden wake up and change, attacking him and ripping his face into ribbons.

"Heads up!" Coach called, taking his axe straight into the skull of a passing Hunter that has leaped down from atop a building. Keith felt lucky all of a sudden. He hadn't once got attacked by something, and he didn't even have a weapon.

As his mind thought over the scenario, he felt pressure against his chest, and his feet left the safety of the ground. It was so fast Keith didn't even know what was going on until he felt like he couldn't breathe and his grip slipped out from Karin's. He let out a holler as Karin suddenly woke up the minute she left his hold and screamed, landing on all fours and snarling.

She got on two legs, looking up, and snarled.

"Don't get near them!" Nick hollered, putting an arm in front of Rochelle as she tried to rush to his rescue. "Are you crazy?" She exclaimed, trying to head forward anyway, but Nick kept his arm out in front of her. He chuckled, "Maybe I am, but I want to try something. Just wait."

Coach and Ellis stood by watching the scene play out expressionlessly, but Nick could tell that Ellis was fidgeting and itching to help his childhood friend from the hold of the deadly Smoker.

Karin gazed up at Keith, who was dangling helplessly a couple feet above her. She let a growl rumble in her throat before she crouched down and readied herself. Her legs pushed up strongly underneath her, and in one leap she had her grip on Keith's shoulders and her feet were digging into each side of his hip.

Keith let out a shout of surprise more than pain, and stared into Karin's glowing yellow eyes as she stared back. She didn't make a noise, like she was trying to say his name, only kept that same rumbling growl in her throat, and lifted an arm up to where the tongue was connected to him.

He flicked her claw, her index finger slicing through the slimy tongue and sending Keith free from the bonds of the Smoker. Nick let a smile cross his lips, for the first time in almost the entire time they had been here, and headed toward them as they fell to the ground.

Overalls 2 was gasping for air as he grabbed his chest and stomach. "Karin..." He gasped as she crawled over next to him. Coach backed up, listening to her warning snarl. Everyone knew Karin didn't like him, and Nick thought it was almost hilarious. Even when she was an Infected creature, she still had thoughts and instincts like that. That's why she hadn't harmed Nick or Keith entirely yet.

Karin looked down at Keith and stood up on two legs. She let out an impatient growl as Ellis came to help the injured man up, "We ain't got all day now." The younger man stated, helping him onto his feet.

The older hick moved to grab Karin in his arms against but she backed up. "Karin you have to..." She shook her head and got behind Keith. Before he knew it, she had pounced on his back, swinging her legs around his torso and tightly gripping his shoulders.

"Oh, damn I see." He gasped as the surprising weight of her made him stumble a moment, "I guess I'm givin' yew a piggy-back!"

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**_

The question that burned behind his lips was finally asked the minute they took refuge in an upstairs apartment room, hiding from the bombs that dropped angrily down onto the streets. They were busy digging into the snack packs Rochelle had found in an abandoned food store. Karin didn't eat, only eagerly watched outside one of the busted windows at the Infected zombies down below with some kind of unknown blood lust.

Nick sat watching her, his hand tightly gripping the frosted, cheap cake he was nibbling on. Ellis was sitting next to him, finished a bag of Fritos and moving to his second bag. Keith's mouth was begging to ask the question, but fear kept him in his place, afraid of how Nick would react the question.

He suddenly couldn't take it anymore, closing his hands into tight fists and stammering, "Wh-what's gunna happen when we get tuh CEDA? What're they gunna do 'bout Karin?" Everyone stopped their eating, even Ellis who was as hungry as anyone else in the group. He gulped down his dry Fritos and glanced over at Nick who didn't look up from the ground.

The question didn't surprise him in the least, but he slowly turned his gaze to Keith, no expression whatsoever on his face. He shrugged, letting a sigh that he really needed out pass through his lips. "To be honest, I don't know. I've been thinking and...Maybe it's best if we just leave her here. Or maybe put her out of her misery." Keith's face paled and he felt his head start to give off painful throbs. "What did yew say..." Keith whispered in shock, his voice coming out cracked.

Nick ran his fingers through his dirty hair and sighed in annoyance, "You know, Keith, sometimes nothing goes your way. Sometimes people die and that's just how it fucking goes!" His voice rose with every word he spat out, "Sometimes...just..._SOMETIMES THINGS HAVE TO BE DEALT WITH ACCORDINGLY. WE HAVE TO DO WHAT'S BEST FOR EVERYONE, AND ESPECIALLY WHAT'S BEST FOR HER!"_

Karin turned around toward her brother, her milky yellow eyes catching his gaze. Nick flicked his eyes away from hers, not wanting to see her. He needed to be strong about this. He thought about it the entire time they were here, even on the boat. Knowing Karin was alive, but Infected, was making Nick go crazy, and he needed her to be gone, out of her misery.

Coach had bowed his head back down to his snack, guilt gnawing his head. It was probably part of his doing that had made Nick become this uptight and hysterical. Keith was looking at the gambler in disgust, his eyes narrowing and his tongue trailing along his bottom lip.

"She's yer **sister**, Nick. She's yer flesh n' blood. How could yew think like that, Nick? Yer a sick bastard. A _sick bastard._" He snapped back, standing up. Karin flinched at Keith's angry body language as he climbed out of the window on the railing they came from, slid onto the top of a turned over Semi, and onto the streets below.

"Neek..." Ellis began, but said nothing more as he ran to the window, along with Karin. Nick grunted to himself, chewing another bite of the cheap cake, but looked at it in disgust and tossed it away and out of the window.

Rochelle sighed to herself, not looking up from her feet. Though, Coach seemed to have more guts than Rochelle and stated, "You may think your doin' somethin' good for tha team, kid, but sometimes you should just keep your damn mouth shut."

Nick looked away in shame as he watched Karin give out a screech and leap down to follow Keith around.

Keith didn't want to talk to anyone as he made his way around the rotting corpses of the dead. The stench...my god the _stench _of the dead made Keith run over behind a car and spill his previous snack all over the pavement.

He couldn't take this, he couldn't take the dead being all around him. He just...he just couldn't take this anymore. He gripped the tire of the car he was near and lifted himself back up onto his two feet.

He heard a shuffling behind him, and turned swiftly around in a flurry of panic, remembering his gun was not on his person. What he saw behind him calmed his nerves immediately, but not all the way. Karin was standing there, her shoulders hunched forward like some kind of wolf-man, and her eyes looking at him. Her big, milky-yellow eyes full of no emotion...full of nothing...

"Kiiithk..." Karin hissed, her eyes being blocked by the dark shadow of her hood. Now, she definitely looked like the common hunters he had always run into, and it scared him to the very core. Now that he had heard the words come from Nick's mouth, the Nick that, in the past, wouldn't give up on trying to save Karin from her Infectious state, he started to doubt himself if he could help her at all.

"Yes...Yes that's my name, Karin." He replied uneasily, flinching and back up to the car's frame as best as he could. Karin made her advance on him, not threatening at all, but somewhat kept a limp instead of a normal walk.

He thought he was use to her being this way, but now that his mind was fully open to this fact, he couldn't even look at her anymore. She moved in until only a couple of inches were between them, and she placed her claws onto his chest. She looked down at her hands, no expression meeting those void of yellow eyes.

"Karrnnn...mostrrr..." She hissed, her nails scraping delicately against his shirt. Keith's breath drew in, fright freezing his muscles like ice. He knew, in some way, that she wouldn't hurt him, but his instinct was to run away, just run away and never come back.

His mind was playing tricks on him, he pictured himself running away, and Karin's face starting to change into some twisted zombie with flesh dangling off of the bone, and her flesh melted from her mouth to form an ever-lasting smile. Her voice pitched at a haunting tone, and her eyes forever that yellow void...

"Karin..." Keith began, but Karin stopped him and pressed her lips briefly to his, only to pull away in shame and guilt. Keith stood there against the overturned car, his eyes wide and his face pale.

"Not...mostrrrrr..." She hissed.

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**_

Nick walked down the abandoned streets of New Orleans, his contempt gaze following the path of empty cars. About every car in the street was blinking on the inside of the skeleton, warning anything that the alarm was still on. He blinked slowly, walking to an empty bar, except for a gargling and snarling Infected over another dead person.

He shot the creature in the head with his handgun, not once reacting to the blood that splat against the back wall. He needed a drink so badly, it made his head throb. His lips and throat were begging for a nice shot of tequila. He needed that familiar liquor burn in his stomach, bringing back memories of his younger life in the old Las Vegas bars, joking over a shot and flirting with a nice girl.

His Gambling Buddies would always tease him when he would joke on his drink, he was a big drinker, sure, but sometimes something would go down the wrong pipe or it would be too much for the man and he would cough and sputter and grip his chest in a frantic attempt to save himself from the intense burning.

They weren't his real buddies, his gambling buddies; they were just people that were suckers when it came to poker. He would usually get a couple hundred a week from these guys whenever he ran into them at the Casinos. He used them, sure, he used everyone. He was a user, as his ex-wife had said.

He used anything he could, never once being grateful with what he did own. He would always whine and gripe and complain about the things that he didn't get, so he'd go out and steal it. He stole everything, from stupid little knick-knacks in markets, to expensive gadgets that he would pick from the shelves of technology stores like Best Buy or Radio Shack.

He was a bad man, and he used to be proud of it. He was proud about his bad background of gambling, stealing, and using. That was just how he was raised, with parents that never talked to him or talked good about him. The only time his father would talk about him was with negativity. He'd usually hear the typical story of, "_Damn kid never shuts his mouth. One day he's gonna get in a shit load of trouble with that attitude he carries around."_

Whenever he would hear good things along with his name was when he would leave the house to stay at a club with some friends, or go to a party (usually with alcohol or drugs) and he would hear his father bellow from the darkness of the living room, "_Finally that idiot is leaving to another one of his stupid parties! I hope you get into a car wreck with your stupid drinking and driving!"_

To face facts, Nick had never been one to drink and drive; he knew how far he was supposed to go with alcohol. He's seen the chilling documentaries of the aftermath of drinking and driving, and he was glad he wasn't like his father. His father was worse than himself, being a heavy alcoholic and an abusive husband and father.

Part of him pitied Karin for having to deal with them after he left at around 14, going onto 15. He seated himself at the bar, the smell of faint liquor and cigar smoke still in the ancient wood that constructed the counter and bar stools. He sighed, pulling himself up to go around to the inside of the bar and bending down to see what was hidden inside.

Scotch was nestled cozily in one of the shelves, hidden in the shadows. He grabbed it, popping open the new bottle and grabbing the only glass that wasn't destroyed by the bombs or the zombies.

He sipped the small glass of scotch, coughing and setting the cup down while he tried to catch his breath. His throat burned from the alcohol, and he felt ashamed that he wasn't use to the strong liquor. He use to drink all of the time, but having been sober for 2 weeks, he had been use to no liquor in his system.

"Neek?" A soft whisper sounded from the opening of the bar. Nick looked up in shock, but calmed down when he saw the familiar young hick peering from the corner of the street. Nick smiled, which was a rare occurrence with the gambler. "Neek...are yew okay?" Ellis asked shyly. He stepped into the bar, his feet scuffling against the dirty wooden floorboard and almost tripping on a severed arm that was in the way of his footsteps.

Nick caught him just in time, holding him up to his chest so he could make sure the hick didn't twist his ankle. "I'm...sorry for how I've been acting, kid." Nick mumbled, taking both of the hick's hands softly. Ellis blushed and looked down, "Yew shouldn't be sayin' sorry tuh me." He responded, seating himself on one of the bar stools and leaning against the palm of his hand.

Nick shrugged his shoulders, sitting next to the man. "I want to apologize to him, but he just angered me about how selfish he was." Ellis blinked a moment, taking the small glass and smelling it, getting the smell of hard liquor, scrunching his nose in disgust and setting the glass to the side.

"Maybe it was yew bein' selfish, Neek." Ellis shyly responded, "Yew seemed tuh be very scarred by her changin' n yew probably wanted her to be dead so yew didn't have to deal with seein' her like that." Damn that hick, although he was about the most innocent adult Nick had ever met in his lifetime, he had a point.

"I don't like talking about it." He stated straight-forward. He looked across the bar to the juke-box, and looked around at the emptiness of the bar around him. No one was around...could this be the best time?

The gambler moved close to where Ellis was seated, and it took a moment for the hick to actually understand what the older man was doing. "Neek…"Ellis began, but Nick grabbed the back of his head and pulled it to his.

He smoothly locked lips with his, feeling the younger man's hat slip off of his head and onto the floor with a thud. Ellis didn't fight back this time, only cocooned into the older man's frame, his hands trailing to his collar.

The gambler brought the hick more into his own lap, balancing perfectly on the bar stool. This brought back memories of him at the old bars in California, wooing the girls to the point of them begging. He wanted to just pin the hick down where they were and make love to him. He wanted to, and this time he wasn't going to leave early in the morning and never call again.

He felt something more when he kissed the hick, he felt like that black void that had grown and inhabited his soul since he was a mere teenager was slowly being filled by this dorky, silly hick. This kid, who Nick despised when they first met each other on the top of that burning Hotel in Savannah, filled that void so smoothly.

It was almost like...they were made to be a couple. Nick moved away from Ellis's eager lips to his neck, suckling on the hot skin, feeling the jugular with his tongue and moving to his collar bone. It was getting hot in the room, and the tightness in Nick's pants wasn't helping anything.

"You- have- no- idea- how- bad- I- want- to- push- you- down-." Nick growled in between eager kisses on the younger man's neck. Ellis let a moan escape his lips as Nick eagerly pressed him against the bar, hot lust flooding off of his body like rain.

He ground his hips against Ellis's almost hungrily, wrapping his arms around his buttocks and squeezing them tight, bringing the man's hips and body more into his as he eagerly ground into him. God **damn **he needed this more than ever.

He fiddled with the buttons on Ellis's pants, hungrily undoing the belt and zipping the zipper down. He felt the hardness hidden behind Ellis's red and white plaid boxers. He ripped the baggy jeans off of the man angrily, cupping the man's erection in his hand. Ellis's arms were tensed and wrapped around the gambler's neck.

Ellis arched his back, almost too seductive to stand, and moaned softly, "Neek...god..." He moaned softly, grinding his hips right back against Nick's. Nick smirked and fiddled with his own zipper.

"I want this." Nick growled, lust thick in his voice as he whispered in Ellis's ear. "_I want you_."

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**_

Karin knew, even in her current state of insanity, that Keith feared her. It killed her inside, more than the Infection was killing her from the outside. Her flesh constantly burned, and her mind constantly seemed to throb with the pain of the transformation. It was only a matter of time before her knowledge of anyone would go out the window, and she only wanted blood, death…

Karin couldn't rid the mental images of her atop Keith, ripping into his flesh, mercilessly shredding his flesh, digging into his chest and ripping out vital organs; ripping out his skin, his ribs…his heart. She sat atop a building, overlooking the scenery, and the distant bridge that everyone was so eager to make it to.

Her eyes narrowed, and she gazed down at herself. Her feet…my God her _feet_. They were inhumanly protruded like animal feat, like a monster. She shook her head frantically. She was _not _a monster. She wouldn't bring herself to think about the fact that she was something kids thought about in nightmares and what people came to see be slaughtered in the movies.

She was a villain, and her teammates were the good guys. They were the heroes that would make it through the bridge scene, and save the human race just by sacrificing Karin, or just shooting her down right on the spot. "Mostrrr…" She murmured to herself.

She took in a deep, clean, breath, ignoring the acrid scent of the dead and rotting, of the spilled gasoline, or the smoke emitted from the distant bombs. She took a breath because she just hadn't had a nice mind-clearer in a while.

She needed to calm down, and she needed to think clearly. Her body was just too tensed to relax, but she needed to try. She let out another long, deep breath, and slouched her shoulders forward, toward the street.

She stared at a Common stumble along the road, only to misstep on an upturned pipe that was grotesquely sticking up from the ground, its sharp razor-sharp edge jutting out ominously toward the sky. The Common ripped its entire shin against the pipe, blood spilling to the street below, and watched as the Common collapsed there and ceased to exist by loss of blood.

Karin only wished it could be as simple as that. All she needed to do was…stumble across an accident. She just needed to "accidently" get ripped apart by a Tank…or "accidently" be crushed by a falling building… or "_ACCIDENTLY_" leaping onto Keith, only to have her skull and spine crushed by a gun and have her life end there.

She clenched her jaw, curling up even more on top of the building, her eyes narrowing almost shut. She shouldn't be thinking like that, it was only being selfish. She **should **be protecting her teammates, no matter if they feared her or not. She needed to keep her sanity for as long as she could, because she could just scarcely feel the urge to kill ebbing at the corner of her mind.

No…no murder, no killing. She wanted to cry, and wanted to sob and just spill her tears over the street, she wanted to scream and wail and wallow in despair. She wanted to pour out all of her emotions there, just cry until tears no longer could be produced.

She dug her claws into her own sides, hard, and felt the warm liquid of blood flow between her fingers—no…claws. She bit her lip, trying not to cry out in pain, and pulled her long, dirty claws from her sides, feeling the wound produce more blood. She needed to get rid of this mental pain, just let go, just

(kill yourself)

vent. She let out an aggravated snarl and, crouching down and readying her back legs, leaped from the ledge onto a toppled car down below. She stumbled, though, sliding off of the cracked windshield to the street, her sides burning and aching from the self-infliction. She whimpered, standing up, although her body hunched over even more than normally (_yea, normal, this is normal)_.

She needed to get back to her friends…were they her friends? She didn't know, she didn't care, she just wanted to see them again. She wanted to help them until they safely made it across that damn bridge. She didn't care about what would happen to her when she met face to face with those fucking **CEDA'S** that tried to help. No, trying wasn't even a word to use, they didn't help one bit.

She could see the landmark that concluded Karin's thoughts of where she was, and she smiled. That's weird…what was a smile again? Her brain racked for a moment, trying to remember what a smile was, but nothing came up. Everything was blank now.

Despair gripped her stomach and she made her way far up the wall toward the room where they were taking cover, although the bombs had stopped about 5 minutes ago. Her mind didn't put bombs into something, only that bombs were bad, hurtful, loud things. She only knew to never get near one.

Something in the back of her mind knew she was losing herself, and she knew that there was no point in being alive right now when all she would do is slaughter the ones she loved most.

But everything like that vanished when she looked into the building to see Rochelle and Coach still nestled inside, Keith and the Love-birds nowhere in sight. And by the look on the two oldest people's faces, they didn't know either, and were getting concerned.

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOo**_

Eager thrusts met cries of pleasure. Heated breaths met hot-to-touch bodies. To Nick, this was his paradise. He had wanted this for so long, and after their love making, he could never be happier. They had snuck off to a secluded little shop that had been gutted out of everything.

They sat, Ellis's legs around Nick's waist, and just talked. Nick was talking over a bottle of room-temperature water, and Ellis was chewing a warm deli sandwich they had scavenged from a nearby market store. The expiration date was 4 days ago, but it was edible and Ellis was hungry.

"It's funny how someone I use to hate, turned out to be the person I about never want to leave." Nick stated casually, taking another swig of his warm water. Ellis said nothing, chewing his sandwich thoughtfully, not once taking his eyes from Nick's face and body.

Nick wasn't the man to talk about his feelings…or his personal life, for that matter, but this time he felt comfortable about it. Hell, the end of the world was practically upon them, the city was crashing down around their feet, so what was going to be lost? The gambler tossed the about empty bottle to the side, rubbing his hands up and down the hick's sides.

"Right now, I'd be dying for a cigar…" Nick mumbled, watching Ellis nibble on his sandwich. It amused the gambler how much Ellis resembled a squirrel right now. His hat was on the floor, with his hair in a crazy tease (a thing created by their rough sex) and his mouth hungrily nibbling on the half-eaten sandwich.

He didn't comment, although he wanted to so bad, and only smiled at the hick, getting a sincere smile back.

As they sat there, they heard fast approaching footsteps from outside of the bar, and was about to snatch his gun before Rochelle, Karin, and Coach entered. They froze, watching as Nick casually got up from the floor, followed by Ellis.

"Something the matter?" Nick asked, meeting the surprised faces of the group. Karin ran toward Nick, leaping into a warm hug and only growled low to herself in response.

"Keith- we…we can't find him!" Rochelle gasped, looking down the street from where she was crouching down. She needed a breath.

Ellis's eyes widened a second, his panic seeming to rise the more time stretched, "Where did yew see 'im last?" He asked frantically, and Karin grumbled to herself. Nick's eyes bore into her skin…her infected skin. _She's lost the ability to speak…_ He thought with dread.

"I saw him by that kitchen place." Coach responded. Of course the heavy-set man would think of the kitchen as their first landmark to go and search for. Karin nodded as well, and started to leap off, from building wall to car roofs, searching for him.

"We should hurry now." Rochelle responded, following the Infected as she made her way down the street and turned into a corridor.

Ellis and Nick loaded their weapons, a soft feeling of dread bubbling at the pit of the gambler's stomach. Something that stirred in the air…something that seemed to crawl up his spine…made him think something absolutely dreadful was going to happen…let's just hope he isn't right.


	4. Parish

Rochelle kicked away a sprawled, decaying hand from the sidewalk. It was squirming with maggots, and she bit her lip, closing her eyes. She hated being here. Her eyes cast glances from the sidewalk, to the street all the way down. It made a sharp turn to the right, disappearing along a conga-line of parked cars and pieces of brick and concrete.

Keith wouldn't go down there. Rochelle bit her lip harder, turning sharply on her heel back to the way she and the others split up. Maybe they found something better than just rotting corpses and destroyed cars.

Her footsteps sped up a pace as she made a sprint back toward the intersection which the others split up at. She hated being alone along a strangely quiet road with nothing but the dead to keep her company. Her mind was a devilish thing, and she could picture a dead and rotting man reaching his maggot-filled hand up to her, gargling out a cry for help.

Her spine shivered up to her neck and she almost paused from her sprinting to let the massive shiver pass, but her fear sent her faster. She halted, sliding against the busted concrete street and panting harshly, gulping in the acrid air around her.

The others were still gone, and probably won't be back for another half an hour or more, so she cast a glance down the road that Coach went down, and followed suit.

She spotted Coach a ways down the road, which was a long damn road, if she put it mildly. It just went on for about a mile or so, it seemed, and she couldn't even see the corner to where it turned into another street.

She saw the large, heavy-set man digging through some rubble a couple feet away from an old and long ago abandoned barber shop. He tossed a large piece of metal, and Rochelle jumped in her boots as the sliver made a loud clang as it hit against a hollowed-out car.

"Coach?" She asked as he sat back up, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead. He looked over to her and stood up, "Aye, I heard something over here; I was just hoping it would be Keith." A cat hissed angrily at Coach as it slid out from where the man was digging. "Turns out it was jus' a cat."

Rochelle smiled softly and looked around the lost and abandoned street. She felt uneasy, even if another living and breathing human was with her. Then again…all of the zombies were in fact "alive"…

"Find anything?" Coach asked, breaking Rochelle's train of thought. She blinked a moment, getting out of her sudden trance, and turned back to the older man, "No luck. I came back here to see if you found him."

Coach let out a long sigh and grabbed his M-16 which had been resting against the gutter. "Might as well catch up and see if Ellis or Nick has found him." Rochelle nodded, readjusting the 870 that was strapped to her back. She preferred using her magnum for her weapon; it was handheld and easy to use.

They made their way down the road; the only sound being emitted was the sound of their shoes scraping against the street.

"I wonder who Karin went with." Coach chimed in, kicking a rock, watching it roll and skid underneath a car. Rochelle shrugged, "Being the person that she's sort of now, she'd probably go with Nick."

Coach nodded solemnly, not continuing with the conversation, but sighing and looking up into the cloud-dotted sky. A jet flew overhead, its black silhouette forming a large shadow over the two.

"Let's just hope we find him before the CEDA's completely destroy us." Coach stated. Rochelle grunted in agreement, and they started at a heavy jog down the street.

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**_

"Keith?" Nick called out into the silent stillness of the street. His voice traveled along, only to vanish in the buildings and brick instead of bouncing back to him. Karin raised her head up to the sky, breathing in a deep gulp of thick, hot air and coughed, wiping her mouth of green saliva that dribbled from her chin.

"Kiiiithk!" Karin called out into the street. No answer returned her call. She sighed softly, looking down at the pavement as Nick searched through rubble. He rested his MP5 against the sidewalk and pushed a large piece of concrete with his foot, his breath stopping in his throat from the sheer weight of it.

A corpse lay underneath; its face buried against the concrete and it's back completely gouged out from a large steel pipe ripping it into ribbons. Nick turned away, scrunching his nose up at the strong odor and coughed harshly.

Karin stared at the body emotionlessly (although it's pretty damn hard to tell what she was feeling with those eyes of hers). "Karin, let's keep going. We'll probably meet Ellis down the road, alright?" He said smoothly, letting the large chunk of concrete fall right back into place over the body. Karin didn't acknowledge him speaking at all, but stared at the space where the corpse just lay.

He shrugged and set off down the road again, making sure his MP5 was in his grasp, and Karin followed close behind.

_Such a splendid day._ Nick thought straight-forward. _Seriously bites that this day has to be completely obliterated by this shit. _He looked around himself at the total destruction of this city. He always had heard of New Orleans being a thriving city full of tourists and such a homely, antique feel to it.

Of course, he's never even been here before in the past, being a pure-bred West kid, but Coach had told stories of his life in New Orleans, and Nick honestly felt jealous of the older man.

_Everything has to wilt sometime._ He grimly put, stepping over a disembodied limb. He was used to seeing so much blood, after it being almost three weeks, so the scene he saw before him, laid out like a map, didn't affect him.

His crappy frosted cake snap sure didn't want to stay put, and it took all of Nick's will to keep the food in his stomach. He didn't think of it, but suddenly started to talk to his sister, who was quietly walking alongside him.

"I remember watching Television when I was 10," He began, looking around him with awe, "I was watching the Travel Channel, I think, and they did a whole hour long show about New Orleans. I learned all kinds of things." He kicked a pebble out into the gutter, "I didn't know this city was so into witchcraft and voodoo. It kind of fits the whole 'zombie-apocalypse' thing if you ask me."

In some kind of odd way, Nick knew Karin was listening. He glanced over at her as she gazed down at the street with no emotion. Who knew what she was dealing with right now? Nick could only imagine. They walked rather quickly down the road, not once glancing inside of the buildings, or anywhere away from where their feet hit the pavement.

As they made their way down the road, Nick felt a small yet very inaudible rumble below his feet. It increased a moment, sending a loud and long crushing echo through the streets. It sounded like a bomb. Not five seconds later, there was a scream, and Karin stiffened where she stood. "KIITHK!" She screamed, taking off exceedingly high into the air.

Nick ran off after her, his feet almost tripping over themselves. He stumbled to the ground, landing inches from a rotting corpse. "KARIN!" He called after her, as she made her way closer to the explosion. He got up on his knees, scraping his palms roughly against the concrete and following close pursuit.

He found her in front of a completely destroyed Bank, its walls almost gone and to the ground. Karin looked around frantically, her yellow eyes casting long looks into the darkness of the rubble. Nick caught up to her, his voice coming out choppy and raspy, and he watched as she snooped around. No sound emitted from the rubble, but to Nick's sick discovery, he saw an elbow poking out from the bottom of the rubble.

"Karin…" He mumbled, and he directed her attention to the body part that was poking through the concrete. Karin dug her nails into the wall, making an ear-aching screech, and she pulled the heavy weight to the side.

To Nick's relief, though not entirely, the body underneath it wasn't Keith. It was a young woman of 18, long ago Infected and killed by the bombs. Karin calmed down, the hair on her neck resting. She looked up at Nick from where she had crouched and cocked her head to one side. "Neechk?" Nick looked back at her, and before he could reply to her noise, he heard a groan echo from across them underneath a piece of wall.

Karin turned on her heel, leaping over to the place and nudging her elbow underneath the large piece. She grunted, but no matter how hard she tried, the sheer weight of the wall wouldn't budge, and Nick walked over, strapping his weapon to his back, and helped lift up the large piece.

Keith was underneath, his hands wrapped over his head and his face buried into the dust and debris. "Kiiithk." Karin said, rather full of relief.

She grabbed him delicately by the arms and slid him out from underneath the heavy wall, letting Nick drop the almost unbearable weight where he had found it. "Why the hell did you go off all alone?" Nick almost snapped, anger boiling over the past concern.

Keith was rested against a car, his knees curled up against him and his eyes narrowed into slivers. His head had been gashed, and blood was flowing freely and into his eyes. His arm was badly bruised, and his other arm had bits of concrete stuck to the outer layer of skin.

"I needed tuh…tuh think 'bout stuff is all." Keith mumbled, grunting from the pain in his chest. Nick didn't need to check on the man, he already had a good feeling that the hick might have broken a rib or two. The older man ran his fingers through his slicked back hair and stood up, looking around. "Guess I'm gonna carry you back."

Karin let a growl rumble from her throat, and her brother cast a fretful and frightened glance at her. She hadn't yet given him any doubt to not trust her, but just then she glared at him angrily and her lips were drawn back to show sharp teeth.

A shiver ran down his spine.

"Kiithk r'dde bckk." Karin grunted, moving over and letting Keith grab onto her shoulders. Nick bit his lip, trying not to protest to the act. Keith was so much taller than Karin, but he decided to let it slide.

Like Ellis had said before any of this happened, Karin was a big girl and she could do what she thought was right…

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOo**_

Ellis met Rochelle and Coach at the intersection where they had split up. Both of the other team members came back empty handed, and sadness replaced Ellis's lightly burning hope that swirled in his blue eyes.

"It's a'ight." Ellis reassured, letting a smile push back onto his face, even though he strongly wanted to keep that frown, "I'm sure Neek n' Kar'n found 'im." Rochelle returned his reassuring smile, although she thought that Nick and Karin might not have found the man.

Coach closed his eyes a moment, rubbing his head. "Maybe we should just head to the Safe House without them. They can catch up right?"

Both Rochelle and Ellis silenced and stared hard at Coach, who opened an eye and felt regretful of speaking his mind.

"Yer kiddin' right?" Ellis almost shouted, and Rochelle flinched from his harsh tone just then. "I ain't leavin' till I see Neek n' Kar'n n' Keith all safe!" Rochelle bit her bottom lip. The kid was just extremely loyal, devoted, and optimistic. It was almost surprising to see Ellis keep his hopes up, when he was surrounded by such destruction and death.

Coach narrowed his eyes harshly at the young man, "Listen, kid, your _boyfriend _is still just like he was before we met him. People don't change. He might have just fled the minute we split, you never know."

"Oh Karin could have completely changed." Rochelle put in, turning her angry glare to Coach, before she quieted herself. Ellis's face fell, and he anxiously turned to where Nick and Karin had walked.

"Dun' believe yew guys…" Ellis mumbled, turning down the intersection and starting off, hugging his auto-shotgun closely to his chest. Rochelle turned to Coach, shook her head, and followed.

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**_

Was that them? Nick narrowed his eyes against the hot haze that floated lightly over the ground. He saw some figures off in the distant, but he just wasn't sure. Ellis didn't wear dark clothes.

He stopped Karin with an arm, grabbing his MP5 from his back. "Stay here, sis, and keep Keith here too." Karin seemed to understand, because she crouched down and stayed put as Nick snuck forward closely.

The two hazed forms came more into view, and they looked less and less like Ellis or Coach the more he advanced of the couple. They seemed to be wearing black uniforms, and instead of limping like the Infected individuals he had come across during his long and perilous journey, they had a tall and straight-forward stride.

Nick raised his gun up to his chest, pointing it toward the two forms that kept up their pace quickly toward them. "Who's there?" He called out, hearing his voice travel far past the two men on the road only to evaporate in the air behind them.

The two forms halted on the road, staring down the man that had his MP5 pointed straight between their eyes. He could see more details as they neared, not once stumbling against the rubble or limping a tiny bit as they walked.

One of the men had a uniform on, and Nick's stomach lurched and his grip tightened on the gun as they neared. Both of them had uniforms on, and after reading the words on the right side of his chest, he knew what they said (although they were covered in dust and smudged rather harshly).

They were CEDA, and Nick already had his gun cocked and ready to fire.

"Halt, sir!" One of the men, the taller male, stated, holding up a hand as they neared. Nick tensed even more, not once loosening his grip on his weapon. If they were anything like he thought they were, they wouldn't stop trying to "take care" of Karin's issue.

"Take another goddamn step I'm blowing the top half of your body off of your legs." Nick stated coldly, not once bluffing. The two men halted, and one of them placed a hand on a magnum nestled on the pocket that rested on his leg. "Calm down, sir, no need to be so harsh. We are CEDA, we only want to help."

"Does it look like I give a shit? I advise you turn your sorry asses around _right now _or heads will be rolling."

The taller man, a gray-haired man of about 56, placed his own hand on his shotgun and flipped it around, carefully aiming it at the ground. He eyed Nick with a cold, grey gaze. "Now, son, we could be forceful about this or have to deal with you right now."

Nick smirked, and his eye let off an involuntary twitch. "No thanks." Nick stated, aiming the gun right between the older man's eyes. Nick knew he didn't stand a chance. Two against one was almost too unfair.

I mean, no no don't get him wrong, a million or so zombies, a couple bombs, flesh-hungry special infected, and disease was all too fair, but now facing two CEDA agents with guns was now just getting **too **unfair.

Nick chuckled at his realization, and lowered his gun a moment. "Why are you just now here?" Nick snapped, his fists clenched.

The shorter man, who looked about 30, rolled his eyes, "We just found out about your group early this morning." Nick narrowed his eyes even more, and eyed the two men angrily. "Oh, yes, roll your eyes, that'll fix _everything."_

"No need for that attitude." The older man snapped, and Nick faced him with a stern, almost insane look, "Attitude? Hah, _ATTITUDE?_ You think that's attitude? _I'll give you a fucking attitude!_" He made a step toward the man, but was stopped with the butt of the shorter CEDA's gun wedged under his chin.

Nick calmed immediately, glaring angrily at the shorter and younger CEDA.

"So why don't you come with us and we'll get you all nice and safe, eh?" The older man said, a smirk replacing his stern gaze.

Before Nick could reply, he heard a gun cock and saw a handgun nestle right into the older man's temple. "I don't think that's very necessary."

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**_

Karin was looking up from a window, hidden from view from the men below. She had taken refuge inside a two story building, and was comforting Keith who was whimpering to himself about the pain.

She sent her nails delicately across his chest and pressed her ear to his chest. Keith was too disoriented to react to Karin's action, and watched as she quietly listened to his heartbeat. "Kithhhhk…hrrt?" She mumbled, pressing into his chest more.

Keith sent his hands to her hood, pulling them back and running his fingers through her hair, "Sadly to s-say yea…" He gasped, the pain in his ribs causing his breathing to give off painful shudders.

"Karrrnnn... hlllp." She mumbled, looking down at the ground. Keith grabbed her claws, rubbing them with his thumbs, "Yew can't help there, sport…I'll get help when we get back n'…" He was stopped by Karin's gaze upon his, and to his surprise and utter shock, a tear ebbed at the edge of her eye and slipped down her cheek.

"Nooo…die." She murmured, "Nttt…mostrrr …Karrrn mostrrr." She sat down before him, and looked at the wall, going off in a trance. Keith could not comment on what she said, but only sat there staring at her.

Infected or not, she was Karin.

She was the girl who rescued him from his house about three weeks ago, from a horde of zombies breaking down his door.

He remembered her, riding in on a motorcycle. She had secured jagged pieces of metal to the front, and was slicing her way through the horde as she stopped on the street and waved him down. She was covered in zombies' blood, but the smile on her face could brighten up even that one moment.

Keith bowed his head, closing his eyes for a moment. Both were out of it, and didn't notice the ground rumble beneath them and the distant screams of the dead…

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**_

"You could get in serious legal trouble." The older CEDA stated, his jaw clenched and his grey eyes glaring angrily at Nick. Ellis had his magnum pressed into the man's temple, and Rochelle had taken position beside the other man.

"I highly doubt yer guys er CEDA" Ellis said straight-forward, pressing the gun even harder against the man's temple. The grey haired man's eyes widened and he snapped his gaze to the woman beside him. "Why do you believe that? We _are _CEDA, damnit!"

"Then where's the other guys? I usually thought CEDA sent more than just two guys to go looking for any survivors." Nick snapped back, lifting his gun up toward the man. The older man didn't once blink, but constantly kept his eyes on that MP5.

The shorter and younger man bit his lip, and put in, "They assigned us just one street to look over, there's many other CEDA looking down every street!" Nick noticed the man was losing his cool, and the gambler smirked. Usually CEDA never really showed any emotion when it came to the Infection or being on the bad end of a gun.

Coach snorted behind the men, "I saw no one down _my _street!" The grey man's face turned pale, and he fidgeted in his hold. Nick smirked even greater as the other members of his party agreed to Coach's statement.

"L-listen we don't want to hurt you guys!" The younger man practically pleaded. Nick expected him to get down on his knees, "We…We are just like you guys! We need more people in our group! So many people have died over the past two days; we're the only ones left!"

Nick walked up to the younger man, looking through the police helmet and face protection he was wearing. He smelled extremely different than his partner.

The gambler lifted the latch of the face protector in one swift movement, taking the helmet with it and sent it skidding across the abandoned street floor. "Just as I thought." Nick stated grimly.

The younger man had warts growing on his body, and one was starting to grow sickly yellow. "He's sick."

He bowed his head from the stares of the strangers, "Everyone's probably gonna get sick here anyway, so what's the big deal?" The older man cast a glaring gaze to Nick, "You should understand. You've had your family members get lost in the Infection, am I right?" His tone was cold, but did not affect Nick.

Ellis looked as if he was about to talk, but Nick shook his head and responded, "To tell the truth…I have no family, from before the Infection."

"I saw that girl you were walking with, she was obviously sick." The man retorted, his tone growing angry. Nick stared at the man for a moment, "Spying can only get you killed, in my book," he turned his head to the building where he saw Karin and Keith escape to, "but my sister isn't totally sick, it seems. She seems to be grabbing onto her sanity as much as she can. I'm proud of her, and it doesn't surprise me. She was strong-willed when she was still human; she had an attitude like me, and a tongue as sharp as glass."

The younger man coughed into his hand, wiping green phlegm from his chin. "What should we do with them?" Rochelle asked, looking over at Nick.

Nick licked his lip, tasting the ivory, chapped inside skin. "It would make sense to kill them, because who knows what they could get into if we leave them. His friend is obviously sick, and by the smell, he's close to changing completely."

The older man's eyes became soft, and he clasped his hands together in some form of plead, "Please, sir, please! Death has never fancied me; I don't want to meet the end. I just want to find help for my friend and find safety!"

Nick looked down, not wanting to supply the older man with horrific knowledge of what was really going on with CEDA and the infectious civilians. "I really hate telling you this, but I highly doubt they will help your little friend. I'm honestly telling you, that the CEDA agents will probably take him down the minute you enter the area to board a helicopter. Hell, they might take you down as well, knowing you've been with the sick man for so long."

The gray man fidgeted nervously, and the sick one looked down at the ground. "Maybe it's best if I just die anyway. They could spare your life if I wasn't there. Besides, maybe by the time we get to the helicopter I'll be…"

Silence captured the group as the gray haired man came with the realization that his friend would not be finishing their horrific and traumatic adventure.

The silence didn't last long, though, because a distant chorus of screams filled the street. Nick turned around, his face going pale. "Guys, I think we have some company."

Ellis moved away from the gray haired man and readied his weapon. The hazy vision of, it seemed like, thousands of Infected. Their faces were sickly white and green, their mouths open to show the black voids inside, their eyes milky white pools of hate. Nick stiffened where he stood, and glanced up at the building.

"Everyone take cover!" Coach hollered, running to the side into an open bar. He collided into a pillar, pivoting on his heel and leaning against the pillar for cover. Nick found refuge on top of the low hanging canopy that rested over a small flower shop, helping Ellis up with him.

Rochelle moved to opposite the street from Coach, leaning against an alleyway corner. The two men had backed up against a car.

The infection was huge, and the screams and snarls grew louder and louder, almost drowning out the sound of Nick setting off the first round of bullets against the increasing horde.

Karin, on the other hand, had seen the problem unfolding before her from the building, and turned around to see Keith slowly standing up, "My friends!" He gasped, using most of his strength to lean on one leg.

Karin put her hands up, trying to stop Keith from climbing down to help them. The first wave of Infected were upon the team about now, and Karin shared Keith's hysteria. He pushed his way from Karin's arms and climbed slowly down to the ledge just a couple feet from the street.

He dug into his large side leg pocket, grabbing onto his only pipe bomb, and flicking it on. The beep sounded, causing about half of the zombies to turn their sickly gruesome eyes onto the man standing on the second story ledge. "_EAT THIS._" He screamed, chucking the pipe bomb across the street into a crowded alleyway.

The zombies followed suit, clawing at each other to get near the pipe bomb and destroying the aggravating noise. Karin made a concerned growl in her throat, climbing down to where Keith stood (crouched, in better words). She protectively wrapped a hand into his, which made the man jump a second and look down at her.

"Carrrfull…" She growled. Keith bit his lip, and slipped down carefully to the street below. "GUYS!" He hollered. Big mistake. Karin looked down the road to see another angry wave of Infected civilians running down the street.

Karin's face was grim. That was the thing about these certain zombies, _they ran._

She watched as a couple dozen of the zombies started to head toward Keith, and her instinct kicked in. _Death, murder, blood, BLOOD._

She felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end, and she tensed up as they neared the injured survivor. With a mighty push of her back legs, she was upon the wave of infected, slaughtering any that got near her perimeter. Blood sprayed against her jacket, making her feel warm, and uncomfortable.

That was her intention at the moment, to protect the survivors, not worry about blood staining her clothes. She wouldn't need to worry about it; anyway, she was actually one of the enemies. She was surprised none of her teammates have taken her down before she had any time to even think about it.

Keith wasn't even being attacked by any Infected, since Karin was busy taking down practically the whole bunch. "Karin…you are full of wonders." He whispered allowed, turning around without a second thought toward his teammates. They seemed to be having trouble fighting off the Infected, and Keith rushed to their side.

"Keith! Yer…yer hurt yew can't help!" Ellis exclaimed as Keith took up a spot next to Rochelle. None had gotten any bites or fatal claw-marks on their flesh, although Coach's jeans were getting quite a beating with the Infected that still wanted to put a fight, crawling their way to the survivors and just ripped apart the clothing.

Keith scoffed and jammed the end of his gun into the eye socket of a nearing Infected, hearing the gut-wrenched crack and _squelch _of the organs within its head.

It fell to the ground not two seconds later, about as dead as dust. "Where's Karin?" Nick asked, flinching from the repeated rounds of his gun, which send him jittering back into Ellis a couple times. Keith looked around, trying to peer over the falling heads of the oncoming Infected. Damn, this wave seemed to never end…

He found her, having a battle between three Infected as they started to take turns picking off of her. One of the zombies brought its elbow down into her hip, sending her falling against the other Infected, who bit down onto her ear, causing blood to flow. She yelped in pain and surprise, kicking out her back leg and sending it flying into a pile of twisted steel and concrete.

There was a crunch, and then silence.

She turned onto the other two, her lips drawn back in a snarl and her claws scraping against the concrete.

Keith felt horror bubble up into his gut, and he slammed his way through the horde to get to Karin, who seemed to be having trouble (for the first time he's ever noticed). After a short while battling the horde and trying to reach her, he grabbed a hold of her arm suddenly, and she turned on him in a scream and a slashing of claws.

She noticed who it was while she was bringing her claw down, and curled it up into a fist, only punching Keith square in the jaw, other than ripping the bottom half of his face clean off, and sent him down against the concrete.

The horde had subsided more, and only a few Infected were trying to start up a fight, but were brought down quickly by the others.

Karin instantly crouched down and whimpered deep in her throat, grabbing Keith (who was massaging his jaw and wincing) onto his feet again.

He stumbled for a second, and regained his posture. Coach narrowed his eyes, "She better control herself…I'm surprised she's lived that fucking long, eh?" Keith cast a glance toward the larger man, and rubbed his jaw a couple more times before he moved it sharply, hearing a crack, and sighed in relief.

"It's fine, just needed to be realigned. She didn't break anything…so _shut it._" Nick said, trying to protect Karin (and preferably Keith) and sending an angry glare in Coach's direction.

Rochelle sighed, clipping the gun back onto her thigh holster, "No need for such tension, we don't need that right now, okay?"

"Where did them CEDA folks go off tuh?" Ellis asked, looking around him in a semi-circle. Everyone went quiet, looking around.

They weren't hiding anywhere that they could see. That is, until Rochelle noticed them down the road, "Um…oh God, you guys…" She pointed a shaking finger in the direction where they were standing.

It seemed the men were dragged out of their hiding spot and were ripped apart as they lay screaming, because their mouths were agape, eyes hollowed and black, and their arms and legs ripped in blotches of flesh and blood pouring out into the street.

"Guess that suit did him no good." Coach stated grimly.

Everyone nodded, except Karin.


	5. The End

**Sorry this is so short, you guys, but this is the last part and…well...it's sad. Sorry **

Karin was depressed. Her sanity was hanging by a thread, and as she hugged Keith close that night as they slept, preparing for the next long day, she stared up through the open window at the stars that twinkled down. They looked like they were smiling, brightly laughing as the lights twinkled happily millions of miles from earth.

Karin felt a lump rise in her throat. Oh how she wished she was one of those stars, glistening in the night sky like a beautiful diamond, feeling free and safe, where no pain could meet.

She wanted to cry so badly right them, but nothing would slip from her eyes, nothing would wet her dried cheeks, nothing could escape the fact that she was a monster trying to hang onto the things she cared for most. She was putting not only herself into agony by staying here, but the people she loved. Her brother was going insane watching her change into the thing he feared and hated.

Keith could hardly resemble how he use to act when they first started their adventure; happy and cheerful like his friend Ellis. Nothing could bring back Keith's smile that had faded from his lips so long ago. Karin turned to him, her arms snuggling close to his injured chest, and watched him sleep.

He looked so peaceful, so free of pain. His lips were almost curved into a smile, and that made Karin want to cry. She wanted to rid herself of this burden she brought to the man she loved. She wanted to end her miserable life, so that everyone's pain would cease.

She whimpered into his chest, trying not to let out a hunter's growl. They came randomly, and she couldn't control the urges. Her slashed sides looked horrid, but she was use the pain by now and they only were a numb feeling. She should get use to the pain, for she would experience a lot of it since she was too afraid to kill herself.

Her fangs sunk into her bottom lip as she tried not to emit another screech, but a whimper did slip out, which alerted Ellis as he sat on the window ledge guarding his team. He turned in the direction of Karin, and his eyebrows rose as she fidgeted in her place next to Keith.

"Kar'n?" Ellis asked softly, and she propped up on her elbow and whipped her head in his direction. He caught her glowing yellow eyes, and for a moment Ellis's eyes flickered with fear. He thought a moment that she was in hysteria mode, but as she wiggled out of Keith's grip around her hips, his doubt faded. She sat next to him on the ledge, staring out at the street below.

"How're yah doin' Kar'n?" Ellis asked casually, laying the gun on his lap, the head facing away from Karin. She sniffed the air momentarily and looked down at her dangling legs. She responded with a shrug. Ellis looked at her a moment and sighed.

"I know this might sound a bit mean n' such, but Neek…he misses yah. Yer…yer not really Kar'n and he misses yah a lot. It hurts all 've us seein' yah struggle all tha time." Ellis mumbled, looking out at the street, speckled with infected humans.

Karin felt anger bubble up her body, but she knew that Ellis was right. She was causing everyone so much pain by being here, that Nick was about on the edge of insanity. Karin knew how much love was shared between the hick and her brother, and if she jeopardized that with her being the way she is, she would never forgive herself.

She was a big girl, and she didn't need Nick worrying about her all the time. Hell, she didn't need anyone to worry about her; she was going to be fine.

Ellis watched her as she looked down in shame. "If yer…gonna do what I think yah are…do it tuh where…you'll be known as a hero…or somethin'…" It was tough to hear those words, coming out so cleanly and smoothly, like Ellis didn't feel any pity or sadness for her. She looked at him, her eyes glowing yellow. He honestly didn't have a feeling of pity in his gaze, he was series. It would be for the best.

Karin turned, hearing a shuffling of clothing against gritty ground. It was Keith, and he was rubbing his eyes free of sleep as he sat up. He caught Karin's eyes, and before he could say hello, she leaped into the room and made a running leap for him.

She pinned him to the ground, grabbing a handful of his shirt in her hard grip. Keith first thought she was going to attack him, but when he closed his eyes and expected pain, he got something different.

A warm set of lips met his, and he opened his eyes to see Karin kissing him. This was the second time she's done this in this state, like she only saved her sanity for him, to show him how much she missed him or how sorry she was.

Ellis smiled a moment, and walked over to where Keith was. Karin had finally broken the kiss and was sitting on top of him, her hood covering her eyes. "Guess it's yer turn, eh Keith?" Ellis said, patting the man's shoulder as he made his way next to Nick, who sat using his jacket a pillow.

Nick felt Ellis shift next to him, and in his sleep turned around and wrapped his arms around the hick. Keith watched them, hiding his smirk, and got up to take his post on guard. Karin was still as restless as ever, and sat next to him as they watched the night slowly blink to dark purple and pink.

"Maybe CEDA'll have something to get you better again, Karin." Keith stated softly as he watched the stars burn out to give way to the beautiful purple and orange sky. Karin didn't look up as she watched the zombies down below bicker and attack each other. She didn't want him to know about her actions of ending everyone's misery by ending her own.

Doubt was thick in her mind, though, as she thought about the possibility of the group missing her even more, and her brother going off the deep end. What is CEDA really did have something to cure her, or were they just going to gun her down where she stood?

She shivered.

Whatever was going to happen, the pain will end. She will make it end, even if it took her ending her own life to spare the pain of others.

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**_

"This is it." Nick sighed, his voice thick with relief. The bridge was before them, glistening in the hazy morning sun like some haven. Rochelle felt tears of relief inhabit her eyes, and she used her arm to wipe away the threatening tears.

"After practically a month of non-stop death and destruction…we're here. Better be damn worth it, too." Nick stated, brushing his hand through his hair and unclipping the gun from his back. "I swear to god if CEDA is gone when we call in, I'm gonna go on a rampage."

Ellis gave him a comforting pat on the arm and unhooked his own gun. Karin stood in the back of the group; her covered up face hiding her grim expression. To everyone else, the bridge was a safe haven to warmth and the safe thought knowing the CEDA were going to protect them. To Karin, it was a looming, dark and ominous monster, waiting happily to take her in and never let her leave.

For the first time since her turning into this monster, she felt tears spill from her eyes. Her eyes widened, and she took a finger and dabbed at the tear. It was real, all right, and it glistened on her finger before dripping down to the gritty street below. Well, there was no stopping the tears now.

Her shoulders shuddered as she started to cry, and she was glad everyone was busy getting ready for probably the worst fighting they'd ever have to do. If Keith or Nick saw her shedding tears, even so close to becoming a full monster, they'd break out and come to her.

She didn't want any comfort right now; that would only make it harder. She needed to let them go, and they needed to let her go. She clenched and unclenched her claws, watching her brother and Keith get the weapons full loaded and clipping extra bullets to their legs. Their backs had First AID kits strapped tightly to them, and Nick had a pipe bomb in his pocket.

The tears had ceased from Karin, and she watched all heads turn to her. She sunk her fangs into her bottom lip, holding back tears, and met every eye. "Ready Karin?" Keith asked softly. Karin nodded without a moment's hesitation. She didn't want doubt to replace her plans.

She nodded to Keith in response, and they headed to the beginning of the bridge. A few Infected could be spotted far off on the bridge, fighting over a dead body, and Nick grimaced. That could have been a lone survivor trying to make it to safety, but help could have come too late.

Before Karin could think about the future, they were making their way across the bridge. It was eerily quiet as they made their way down the concrete bridge. Debris littered the floor and body parts were strewn in the way. Buses and cars were piled up, and one Mercedes was perfectly balanced on the edge of the bridge, one half dangling over the dark water and the other half safely on the bridge.

Nick watched it creak ever so slightly back and forth and thought about how much he wanted to go over the push it over with his foot, but that noise would attract unwanted attention. A large hole was gouged in the floor of the bridge as they carefully made their way around it. Keith gulped in fear, what could have caused that?

Coach would not let any tiny details bother him as he made it over a toppled car that was blocking his path. The car was not on, so an alarm did not sound. Karin gazed back and forth from one side of the water under the bridge to the other. There was nothing out here, _nothing_ except water.

She looked ahead of her and the slowly appearing city that was breaking through the morning haze. They were so close to freedom and safety…she practically kicked herself. She wasn't included in this safety, she was a monster. She half thought that Nick knew that Karin's condition would mean death to the CEDA men, and they wouldn't hold back if they saw her.

She could practically picture those men slamming bullets into her chest and stomach until she no longer resembled a human being. She tripped over a body, landing on her elbows. She heard a scrape as she skid to a halt in front of a large bottomless crater in the bridge. With haste, she picked herself up and backed away from the large hole.

She felt her back brush up against a warm body, and when she turned around she smelled the decaying breath of an infected. She screeched and turned around, grabbing the zombie as it tried to take a chunk out of her. With the writhing body in her arms, she shoved it through the hole and watched it meet impact to the water rather hard.

The group paused to watch the scene, and Coach commented briefly with, "Strong gal, if I do say so myself." No one else spoke a word as Karin rejoined the team where they were.

The quiet couldn't last very long though, for after a couple more minutes of quickly getting down zombies from a distance, an uprising sounded far ahead and the large blurring crowd of infected started their way over the cars.

Some got caught in the twisted metal and concrete, and had the unlucky fortune of having 2 inch thick blades of metal rip through their necks and stomachs and anything else that came in contact with it as they hungrily approached the survivors.

Nick fed the gun more bullets as he fired his handgun away at the nearest infected. There was some sort of choking, gurgling hissing in the distance, and Karin hopped up on a car to view the mass destruction heading their way. One of those…Spitters was it… was making her way through the crowd with haste

Karin growled deep in her throat and gathered up her strength in her back legs before pouncing, landing two inches in front of the dripping zombie. It startled the horrifying woman and sent her sprawling back against the horde. Karin used her claws to slash deep gouges into the zombie's neck, and dodged as green acid sprayed across the parked cars.

She almost forgot how the zombies were unaffected by the oozing acid, but Karin wasn't all the way infected and she didn't want to take chances. She sat upon a large trailer truck as she watched the hideous zombie slowly die away from loss of…blood?

After the slow death of the woman, Karin made her way back to her companions to aide them in the large horde of zombies.

The horde died down, after many loud cursing and bullets shredding the flesh of zombies, and the group stopped to catch their breath. Karin watched as Keith took a seat on the hood of a Ford truck, and she slid next to him like a magnet to metal.

She would not leave his side anymore, after viewing the nasty cut on his arm. She felt more hot tears meet her eyes as she rubbed the blood from the cut with a thumb. Nick came over, carrying his first aid kit in one hand and knelt next to the hick. "He's gonna be okay Karin." He said soothingly, wrapping the wound in a bandage tightly.

Keith gasped in breath sharply at the pain it brought, and felt Karin's grip on his wrist tighten. He smiled at her, "I'm fine, hun…just the pressure of the bandages." Nick ignored the man's soothing tone toward his sister and moved back to join Ellis, Coach, and Rochelle.

Rochelle wouldn't meet Keith or Nick's gaze, and Coach put his hands on his hips to catch his breath. "We have to keep going. And we can't stop to heal with time, do it while we're walking." He stated as his breath came back. Karin growled deep in her throat at the news, and Nick, being Nick, groaned and started to complain.

"Stop acting like children!" Rochelle snapped in Coach's defense. She met Karin's gaze momentarily before continuing, "This is the _last damn stretch of road _we have to go over, and then we are done! The end is coming and then we'll be _**safe**_!" Her voice rose momentarily in hysteric happiness, but it calmed almost immediately after and she sighed, grabbing her gun that was resting against a car.

"Let's just go."

And they headed out.

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**_

The sound of the tank alerted Karin before anyone else, and she felt anger and despair rip through her body like a bullet through her skull. The thing was angrier than she'd ever seen, and it ran through the horde and cars like it was nothing.

Keith and Coach were next to see it and Coach let out a warning call to the group in the back more that trouble was heading their way. Karin's first concern was the group and how they would dodge this thing on a bridge like this. Would the tank send one of them flying?

Keith grabbed her arm, but she wrenched her wrist away and ignored his attempts to get her again, to save her. If she was going to die, this would be her chance to rid the group of her burden.

She leaped into the air, spreading her arms out like a hug, and she soared onto the Tank's head. Her claws ripped into the tough flesh of its neck, and she kept on the monster like a bull rider as it roared and crashed into cars, trying to fling the nuisance off of its shoulders.

Karin, ignoring the disgusting squelch as she pulled one hand free, slashed into the monster's eyes and blinded it. Blood caked her fingers, but she ignored the disgusting substance. She was suddenly flung roughly off of the Tank's shoulders, trying to catch herself as she landed painfully on top of a van.

She lifted her head, her world spinning crazily as the sound of gunfire and roars flooded her ears. A ringing was faintly coming into focus, until the gunfire and screams were blinded by the painful ringing. She whimpered in her throat as she let her head fall on the van and her body immediately felt too weak to move.

The Tank slowed down as the bullets came in a shower of pain and fire, and it collapsed a few feet from Nick, who had tripped over fallen debris in an attempt to back away from the beast. Nick's heart fluttered in his chest as she stared at the now dead monster, its jaw slacked open to show the steady flow of blood.

The conman got up, brushing off the dirt that covered his once perfectly white pants.

Ellis took off his cap momentarily, patiently waiting for the dust and debris to clear before he checked out the scene ahead of him. "Bridge a' gettin' closer now." He said, before coughing raggedly up the dust he accidently inhaled.

The group seemed absent to Nick, and he whipped around in a circle before he noticed the absence. "_Karin?_" He called out in the silent, dusty air. Nothing answered, and nothing showed up. His voice faded out into the water down below, and Nick felt panic rise in his chest.

Keith stepped up, wiping the dust from his face. "Karin? Ya there?" He called, his brow furrowed in worry. He turned back to Nick, "Don't see 'er." He stated, his eyes swimming with fear.

Coach helped Rochelle, who had fallen back, up. He wouldn't look up at Nick or Keith, and Ellis sadly came up next to his lover. "Maybe there's something we should tell you." Rochelle stated softly as she wiped herself off and came up next to the worried conman.

Keith had gone, looking through the rubble and cars to try and find his beloved. Nick's heart thumped frantically in his chest, expecting the absolute worse from the woman. She paused momentarily as she surveyed the landscape. "Ellis talked to Coach and I…and…well…Karin was not happy with herself ever since her…change." She started each word feeling like she was driving bullets into Nick.

Nick kept quiet, listening to her every word. She let in a breath, and continued, "Well…she had been secretly planning to…well…rid herself of the burden she had set for us ever since that day in the fast food restaurant all those days ago." She wiped a tear that had slipped down her cheek as she told him. "We knew that we couldn't stop her from doing it…and…and that it would be for the best."

Nick clenched his fists until they became horribly white, and he closed his eyes. To everyone's pure surprise, they watched as Nick broke down into ragged sobs. They had never seen the man cry this hard before, and Ellis had to help him as he went down to the ground and curled his knees up to his head. Tears poured down his face as Ellis comforted him, whispering softly to him.

It was extremely unnerving to see the man break down in that way, for he was probably the strongest man in the team. He had never cried, or broken down in fear. He was always there to brighten, or worsen, the situation with his attitude. Right now…he wasn't himself. He was something that had suddenly broken from his core and now they were seeing the other side of Nick.

Keith's shout brought Nick's head from his knees. "Guys! I…I found her!" His words stammered, and Nick shot up on his feet and headed toward Keith's bobbing head over the cars. The team tried to keep up behind him.

Karin was barely conscious on top of the van where she was thrown onto. A hand had slumped over the edge of the van and lay dangling in front of Keith's face. He gripped that bloody hand, ignoring the blood and remnants of flesh. "K-Karin?" Keith asked, his voice stammering with worry.

Karin twitched, which sent a tense breath through the group. She was alive! She was a live, yes, but barely there. She opened her eyes, and stared at Keith a moment. Her body couldn't move, but she smiled in relief at the site of everyone there. She purred in her throat, and Keith smiled in relief at her. "Thank god you're alright!" Keith sighed.

Coach looked hard at Karin, and suddenly mumbled in grief, "She's not okay, Keith." His voice was barely audible, and Keith had to soak in what the large man said before he turned to him. Nick was still in the place of pain, and he wouldn't look up at Karin the same way that he would all those days ago when he found out she was his sister.

Karin noticed this, and whimpered. She knew she was dying, but she wanted to tell Nick and Keith and Ellis and _everyone _how much she cared about them. She would not die in vain, and she would not be forgotten. Her teeth sunk into her bottom lip as she turned her head up so she could see everyone. Her breath came out choppy as she struggled to speak, and Keith's eyes widened in shock as a word came out of her mouth.

"Nick." She said, her voice struggling with each gasping breath. Nick slowly turned his gaze up to hers, his eyes widening in surprise. Tears were still visible and glistening in his eyes. He met her gaze, and came up to her as requested.

Keith let go on Karin's hand and let Nick grab hers. "What is it lil' sis?" He asked.

Karin closed her eyes for a moment, which made Nick think she had passed, but a moment later her eyes opened. A ripple of shock went through everyone when the yellow glow from her eyes were gone, and were replaced by the familiar green ones. "I'll…be your….your little…sister…forever…." She paused as she took another long breath, "So don't….don't be a dumbass…"

She smiled, the sweetest and most loving smile she could muster up, and that sent Nick through another phase of tears. It was so bad, that Ellis had to pull him back to let Keith come up. He grabbed her hand softly, rubbing it with his thumb. Karin's mood changed, and her eyes softened even more.

"Karin…never….left…" She gasped, her eyes becoming glazed, "She….she will forever…..be….be here…" She pointed her finger at his chest, and he lifted her hand up to touch his chest. There was a moment of silence, where no one spoke.

Her death was slow but painless, and Keith watched with grief and pain as Karin closed her eyes and let out her last breath. Keith felt her hand fall limp in his hold, and he gently let it fall back against the side of the van. Another moment passed where no one spoke to each other. Nick was staring at the ground in a daze, and Keith stared at her hand for the longest time.

Slowly, he pulled the bandana that he had wrapped around his arm, and wrapping it around her wrist so it dangled with her hand. "Love you…kid." He whispered softly, so no one but himself and Karin's peacefully resting body could hear.

In the end, they were able to bury her…

_In the end, Keith never forgot her, and kept her picture of her with her parents with him before they boarded the helicopter to safety. He wouldn't speak to anyone as the aircraft carried them out of the city toward sanctuary. It turns out that Dave, a friend of Ellis and Keith, had survived the infection as well, and the hick moved in with his old friend as he tried to get over this depressing time._

_As for Nick, he moved in immediately with Ellis, where they were allowed to get married years later. For a year in the relationship, however, Nick would barely speak to anyone, even Ellis. Soon, he got past the grief over the loss of his last family member, and settled down to new things. _

_There was a grave made in memory of Karin in the only cemetery in the makeshift town. Nick would visit it every week to say hello, and Keith would regularly visit to water the flowers that had been planted around her tombstone. Eventually, other gravestones and people were put in the cemetery as years progressed. _

_Keith died ten years later, after discovering his cancer. His grave was put next to Karin's where they now will be forever in peace. _


	6. Alternate Ending

**This is an alternate ending to **_**The New Kid**_**. So…enjoy it I suppose. This is about, what if Karin didn't die when the Tank came? This is just one chapter, sorry it ain't that long guys! :/ Anyway, enjoy more drama and tragedy. The ending is cut rather short, sorry, but I was tired and I needed sleep. NIGHT EVERYONE! 3 **

Karin snarled in defiance as she was held down by firm hands. The doctors, masked by a face protector and white gloves, showed no emotion as the female doctor plunged a needle into her upper arm. Karin snarled again, and she was actually able to get a curse word out. Nick watched through the window, his face grim.

"This is jus' cruel." Ellis murmured as he made his way next to Nick. The gambler ignored his boyfriend's comment as he solemnly watched as Karin's movements grew sluggish from the drug they infected her. This was her third shot this week, and there were to be more coming around before the week ended.

"She saved my life with that Tank, Ellis," Nick began, turning to him, "don't you think I should do the same for her? She deserves a fighting chance." Ellis felt provoked to yell at his lover, but sympathy mixed with grief held his tongue. He stared out of the window as the doctors hauled the now unconscious girl onto the table to apply more medicines into.

"She wuhnted tuh die, Neek." Ellis stated as he watched in dismay as IV's were hooked to her arms and a blanket was spread over her body for testing. Nick's fists clenched as he reeled on the hick, his eyes ablaze with fury. "I'm doing what is _RIGHT_, Ellis. I miss my little sister!" Tears threatened to drip down the older man's cheeks, so he turned away swiftly.

Weeks in the infected streets of the south had changed the gambler from the first day, and it had changed everyone immensely as well. Keith did still not want to talk about Karin yet, and Ellis wondered if his best friend would ever get out of his depressing state. Would Keith ever feel the same, and what if Karin became…herself again? Would Keith accept her and climb out of his depression?

His mind reeled on questions, but a commotion in the room caused Ellis to turn his attention to something else.

The sleeping drug had failed, and Karin was shoving the doctors back. Ellis could clearly see how much Karin was fighting with her to control her actions. Her muscles twitched almost frantically, from her brain trying to take control of her muscles again. Ellis felt pity for her. She's trying so hard to control her urges, and it's probably killing her literally.

After a moment of commotion, and threatening from the doctors, Karin backed down and allowed them to apply more drugs into her system. She was back on the table in a moment and was getting more shots not long after.

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**_

Karin was moved to her own personal cell after the appointment. That was when Keith visited, with a bundle of flowers firmly in his grasp. Nick was just leaving, and they exchanged glances and curt nods before disappearing the opposite way they came from.

Keith opened the door of the room, after allowing access inside from one of the nurses, and looked around. Keith probably guessed that the room was triggered with cameras, but after a quick look around, he found nothing that could signal suspicion of a camera.

As the older hick turned around, he found Karin's gaze on him. She was sitting up in bed, her blanket pooled around her legs. She looked frightened to see him here, and she fidgeted on the cot. Keith forced up a smile, something he never thought would be hard to do, and sat on the edge of the cot near her feet.

"Brought you some flowers." He said softly, and placed them on their side next to the cot on the night stand. Karin glanced at them once, but brought her gaze back to Keith. His smile was still visible on his face, which triggered an almost sweet smile from Karin.

The only thing that set him off was the set of large canines that sprouted from her lips when she smiled. He ignored that.

"How's it been here?" He asked, not expecting an answer. Karin sat silently for a moment, and opened her mouth to speak. Her voice was masked strongly by the mutated growl of the hunter, but he had learned to understand her. "Hrrrdd…" She stated through clenched teeth.

Keith's voice settled down to a hushed whisper as he edged up the bed to meet her face. "Have they hurt you?" Karin's glowing yellow eyes dimmed a second, as if afraid to answer him. She reached for his hand with one rough claw, clenched it delicately so as to not harm him with her nails, and murmured, "Ntt…phscall….hrmmmkch…"

_Not physical harm._ Those three words felt like an arrow being passed through his chest. Despair hit him upside the head very hard, and he had to steady himself before replying. "I wish I could take you away from here." His whisper had gone away, and was only a semi-murmur. "CEDA won't allow it, they'll keep you locked up in here and away from me, and I know it."

Suddenly, the door to the room opened with a large _CLANG _and a nurse stood in the doorway. He gazed hard at both Karin and Keith, and motioned for the hick to leave. Before he left, he planted a kiss on her forehead, said his goodbyes, and left with the nurse.

Karin sat up in the cot, watching him leave. When the door closed behind them, she bowed her head, and stared at the flowers he had left her. They gave off a ray of life in the simple white room, and it also gave off a ray of hope for Karin. He wasn't giving up on her…on _them_…and it soothed her worries.

This place was causing her pain, yes, but she had only told him half. Yes, the mental pain was unbearable for knowing how much of a monster she was, but the physical pain was nothing sweet either. She rubbed the bumps where the shots met her body and shivered.

Keith's safe haven was her hell.

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**_

Nick stared up at the ceiling that night, his arm slung around Ellis's shoulders. The steady breathing of Ellis's slumber calmed Nick's worried mind, but he still couldn't stop thinking about this sister. He maybe thought spending some time with Ellis would get his mind off of her, but as he snuggled next to Ellis's naked body that night, dread gripped him like a cold fire.

Karin's state was already bad as it was, but it was just going to get worse. He knew the medicines would fail to help, since CEDA had a reputation of failing at everything they tried to control. They were just going to push her to the point of murder, or worse, becoming more mutated than her state.

He ran his fingers through his hair, and how hard he longed for a cigar. His gaze drifted to Ellis as he slept soundly next to him, and he wished to have Ellis's calm attitude of optimism.

He sat up, the moonlight streaming in through the closed window, and he groped for his boxers. After slipping them on, he made his way to the living room down the hall from his new house that he and Ellis were able to get when they came to this town.

He flicked on the television, and was not surprised in the least to find reporters by the border where the large electric fence was located. They were talking about the infection, and how well the CEDA men were holding back the bloodthirsty zombies. It struck Nick as a surprise that they didn't try helping the people that were infected outside of the city. If they were so determined to help Karin and her state, then why didn't they bring in more people to the town to try and find a cure?

Suspicion clouded his mind as he watched the reporter come up to the gate and face a zombie that was scratching at the gate. It was a woman, not old enough to be an adult, and the gambler watched in despair as she was gunned down by the CEDA men, who were perched at watch towers nearby.

The world he lived in was mad, and he had to flick off the television so as to not change his mood. He stood up, making his way to the kitchen to pour himself a drink. The house only had beer, which was only a mellow cure for the way Nick was feeling. He licked his lips. He longed for a _real _drink. He longed for a scotch in his hand, or a glass of vodka. His hands clenched.

He heard footsteps behind him, and he whipped around as if he was a deer caught in headlights, and found Ellis standing before him in the darkness with the sheets bunched up around him. "Couldn't sleep eh?" Nick asked, regaining his posture.

Ellis smiled his old reassuring smile, "Could say tha same fer yah."

The older man walked up to Ellis, grabbing his hand. "We shouldn't be up. It's too early to be up, let's go to bed." Ellis nodded and led the way back to bed. Nick looked back once at the kitchen and the fridge. His throat clenched, and he licked his lips again. He longed for a drink, for anything that could numb the dread he felt in his veins.

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**_

Karin woke with her arms bound to the cot, and her neck strapped down like a wild animal. She turned her head, only a little, and frantically tried to move her limbs. She called out in fear, but no one came to help her out of her bonds. Her feet were strapped in tight.

She felt trapped, and she longed to move around. Hysteria ebbed into her brain, but the presence of another being calmed her fear as she whipped her gaze to the form in white. It was a CEDA doctor, and he looked down at her expressionlessly. "Awake?" He asked simply, and didn't wait for an answer. He pushed her rollaway cot down the hallway into a large grey door. Fear burst through her chest as she writhed on the cot, her limbs tied strongly down.

_Get out. GET OUT. GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT! __**GET OUT!**_ Her mind screamed the two words repeatedly as the large double doors opened to show a room full of doctors and nurses. Their faces were masked by face protectors, and all of their eyes were sheened with a stern look.

"She looks like a monster." One of them stated as her bed stopped in the middle of the room. Karin screamed out her hunter scream, but was silenced when a mask went over her mouth and nose. She held her breath, knowing the air to be toxic with Nitrous Oxide.

She writhed more, never wanting to give up her fight to free herself. Her breath involuntarily whipped out, and she breathed in a mouthful of the toxic air. Her mind became fuzzy as her fights from the straps weakened, and she could only hear a faint muffled voice as her mind slipped in and out of blackness.

She was conscious enough to feel the needle slip into her arm. It caused her entire arm to go tingling numb, and she twitched to the reaction. As she went under, she could distinctly hear a faint sound that sounded like…a music box…

_Her mind went back in time to the day of her 5__th__ birthday. Her mother sat before her, with her father, and they held out one simple box. Karin had always told her parents she never wanted anything except a music box to play whenever she was frightened by monsters in the dark. She opened the simple plush box to find a black music box inside. It was beautiful, despite its dark color, and Karin's smile spread all over her face._

"Just play this whenever you are scared." _Her father said, and he gave his small half-caring smile. Her mother nodded, her smile had long faded ever since her brother had run away when she was born. Karin looked down at the box, opening it. A ballerina in a black and pink tutu stood majestically in it, her arms twirling around her in the most magnificent way. _

_She grabbed the nob on the bottom of the box, and listened to the tinkling sound it made as the dark ballerina twirled around in circles. Whenever she was frightened or scared, she'd play that sound and it would calm her and make her feel safe…_

Karin awoke with a start, but found her arms were strapped tightly to the cot still. She feebly wrenched her arms back and forth, but the leather straps would not give. What had they done to her? Why did they strap her down to tightly, and knock her out so hard?

She tried to speak, but nothing came out. Her mouth was covered in a cloth that tied around her head. She couldn't scream, call out, or move. She felt frightened being bound on this bed, waiting for God knew what. She needed to relax, because she had a plan.

Through all of the years of stealing and getting into trouble, she knew a thing or two up her sleeve. Even in the state she was in, she had a conscious mind to know what to do in a situation like this. There were probably cameras rigged in the room, but she honestly didn't care.

She relaxed her muscles as she wiggled one wrist in the leather straps. Slowly but surely, she wedged her arm out of the strap that bound her to the cot and she was freed of her left arm. Her hand flung around to the other strap and she dug her claws into the strap. It was tough, and with the help of her wiggling right arm, she got out of the straps.

The neck was difficult to get out of, but after shredding the tough material with her claws, she freed the top half of her body. With horror, she heard footsteps outside of her room, and with speed only a hunter could have, she wrenched the ankle straps from her body and leaped under the cot. She was hidden well, considering the cloth that draped over each side of the cot.

The door opened in front of her, and she watched through the cloth the nurse pause in the room and stare at the empty bed before her. Karin felt a surge of anger run through her body at the sight of the woman, and she had to control herself pretty badly from leaping onto the woman and ripping her throat out.

The nurse walked over to the cot, and whipped out her phone. She quickly dialed a number and put it to her ear. "_She's gone…_No I don't know how, I just came here and the straps are shredded…_I DON'T KNOW WHERE SHE IS!_" She flicked the phone off and carefully looked around the room. She lifted a Taser gun from her coat pocket.

"Come on out, ya little shit. Time to take your shots." The nurse mumbled, clenching her teeth. Karin looked behind the nurse and saw with hope that the door was open. There was no way she could sneak out without the nurse seeing her.

There was only one way out…

Karin tensed her muscles as the nurse walked toward the cot, crouching down right in front of Karin's nose. She held her breath, and drew her lips back in a snarl as the cloth was pulled back. The nurse didn't even have time to scream as Karin pinned her down and clamped her claw down on her mouth.

The nurse stared at Karin in fright as she snarled in her face. She opened her jaws to expose her large fangs. The nurse flinched as a screech emitted from her throat, and Karin stared down at the nurse in anger. With a quick swipe, her claws came down perfectly at the vital spot in the nurse's throat. With a gut clenching squelch, her throat opened and blood sprayed Karin's front.

The nurse was dead in a couple seconds, and Karin leapt off of her, blood soaking her hospital clothes. She ran out of the door, and made it about halfway down the hall before she heard the scream of another nurse that came to check up on what the issue was. Karin didn't look back as she rounded another corner and straight into a doctor.

The doctor stumbled back in surprise, but regained his posture and took out his Taser in surprise. Karin dodged the swing of the weapon, and jumped onto the doctor, scoring deep claw marks into his chest. Blood drenched her clothes, and she almost let go of her sanity as she watched the helpless victim call out in misery and pain as his life slipped out of his breath as the blood pooled around him.

Karin lifted her head to the ceiling, letting out an ear-bleeding snarl. The snarl was thick with hunter, and she stopped when a CEDA guard entered the room. He looked once at Karin, and steadied his gun. Karin jumped out of the way, leaping from wall to wall with the greatest of ease. She was too quick for the guard, and she brought him down with only a swift kick to the head.

She rounded the corner to the courtyard, only to find a gun pointed to her head, and a CEDA guard staring hard at her, no fear in his gaze. She had about 5 seconds before he was going to pull the trigger.

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOo**_

Keith got a phone call that morning before the sun was floating in the sky. The purple and red sunrise filled his living room apartment as he quickly crept down the hall, so as to not wake Dave, and made it to the phone.

"Hello?" He asked, but no one responded with a curt greeting on the other line.

"Please come to the CEDA hospital as soon as possible. Thank you." The phone line was cut immediately after, and Keith stood in his black pajamas in confusion. He checked the number, and knew it was the CEDA at the hospital. Fear ripped through his gut as he slipped on jeans and a simple blue green t-shirt.

He thought of Karin, and he felt hysteria as he drove down the road to the CEDA hospital a couple miles away.

Keith met the front desk with haste, and met the secretary at the front office. "I got a call." Keith stated, and the woman glanced up at him with a hostile stare, and turned in her chair to the receiver. "He's here." She stated melancholy.

The other end fuzzed, and shortly after a man with a rough, deep voice answered, "Yes yes, send him in."

The woman glanced up and pointed her finger down the hall to the right, "Last door down this hallway on your left, sir." Without glancing back up at him, she went back to her vigorous typing. Keith paused a moment before making his way down the hallway to the awaiting room.

He paused in front of the door when a loud crash sounded from the other side, and he curiously pressed his ear to the door as he listened.

"_HOLD HER DOWN._" A doctor screamed in anger. There was a fumbling of shoes and the hard thuds of conflict from the other side of the door. A snarl sounded, but it was muffled like a cloth went over a mouth. The snarl was from Karin, no doubt, and Keith bit his lip in dread.

"_LEAVE ME ALLLNNNEE_." A woman screamed, her voice vibrating like a dreaded snarl. Keith felt frantic when he heard her voice, and without thinking he burst through the door to the medical room and met every gaze that met him.

Karin, who's arms and legs were strapped down to a cot with metal, paused at her screaming and stared at Keith in…what seemed like guilt and shock. One of the doctors picked himself off of the ground, for reasons Keith could probably guess, and brushed himself off. With a cough, he extended his hand in greeting. Keith didn't shake it.

"Uh…well…yes it seems that…Karin has had some issues with the…arrangements we have made for her." The doctor stated as a nurse injected a needle into Karin when she wasn't looking. She snarled in defiance of the nurse and wrenched her wrist in the metal prison.

Keith couldn't believe his eyes, and just stared in blind shock as the doctor continued. The man was obviously uncomfortable with the situation, and would not meet the man's eyes as he continued. "She has…killed two people. You see…she…she was trying to break out of the hospital, and killed two people in the process…"

"We've decided to…put her down." The doctor stated, not meeting his eyes. Keith looked at him blankly, and it took a good moment for the man to actually absorb what the doctor was saying. Karin had stopped fighting the restraints and was looking at Keith. She was partially confused, not hearing the man's words.

It finally hit him like a ton of bricks, and his reaction was explosive.

"Put…PUT 'ER DOWN?_ WHADDYA THINK SHE IS, AN ANIMAL_?" Keith screamed in anger, throwing his arms up in the air. Karin flinched, for now she knew what was going to happen to her. Nothing could be done now, they were in a facility with more than a hundred CEDA men, over half of them guards that patrolled the building.

She whimpered softly, and let her head rest on the pillow in submission. The doctor kept his posture, and folded his arms behind his back. "Sir, you must understand she has _murdered _two people. If we don't put her down now she'll just keep it up!" He glared at Keith.

The older hick's eyebrows furrowed in frustration. "Why am I not surprised by you _CEDA _bastards? You're so use to killing people you even got in the habit of killing _uninfected _people!" The nurse's eyes widened, and the doctor looked back at her a moment. He turned on Keith with rage, "_THAT_ is personal business and should _NOT _be shared publicly!"

"Then don't go _leaving your mess around for people to find._" He hissed in response, advancing on the shorter man. The doctor stumbled back, and looked to the nurse. He nodded to her, and she disappeared through the double doors.

That's when Karin started to be frantic, and tugged on her restraints while calling for Keith. He came to her, and grabbed her mutated claw defensively. "Does Nick know about this?" He asked in frustration. The doctor shook his head, "Not everyone should know of this, sir."

"So you're just going to kill her mercilessly and not tell her only living family member?"

"That's how it has to be sometimes, sir."

Keith squeezed Karin's hand as a CEDA guard stepped in, motioning for the hick to leave immediately. Keith wanted to stay put, to ignore the dangerous man's demand, but he knew things would only get worse. He looked at Karin, looked closely at her, and saw tears ebb her cheeks. They softly trickled down her cheeks, and he rubbed them away.

"I-I…" Karin began, but Keith was tugged by his collar, and he was pulled away before Karin could finish her sentence. He tried to struggle, but he gave up and watched as Karin smiled reassuringly. The doctor glared at Keith, and closed the door before he could see Karin mouth the words, "_I'll be okay."_

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**_

Nick and Ellis spent the day out by the square that day. Ellis thought the gambler needed a day of relaxation and _fun._ They sat down at a quaint café shop and watched the cars pass by as they had a cup of coffee. The entire town knew of Ellis and Nick's relationship, since word had spread around through whispering lips, and they knew not to mess with them both.

Women knew not to advance upon Nick or Ellis when they were alone or together in any means of getting their numbers or more, and guys knew to not advance upon them whether it meant sexually or aggressively. Nick had a history of problems with people trying to take what they couldn't have, and he used those rings on his fingers for a reason.

"It seems like such a perfect day." Nick stated calmly, gazing at the clouds as he finished his cup of coffee and let his feet rest on the table. He turned to watch Ellis finish his light coffee, which had been choked with cream and sugar, and smiled.

"You look like a goof with all of that coffee on your face. You should learn some manners." The gambler joked as Ellis brought his head up from the cup of tanned coffee. The hick smiled goofily, and wiped his mouth with his napkin. "I was jus' thinkin' we shuld go n' take a lil' trip down tuh the mall n' go lookin' 'round fer stuff."

"What kind of stuff, kid?" Nick asked nonchalantly. Ellis bounced excitedly in his seat and thought a moment. "Thinkin' a spiffin' up our place a bit. Give it sum of my old southern hick flair." Nick rolled his eyes and smiled. "If it's too much plaid, I might have to pass kid."

They both laughed as they gathered there things, left a tip, and headed down the road hand in hand.

_**oOoOoOoOoOo**_

"Come on, Nick…come on pick up!" Keith mumbled to himself as he repeatedly dialed his number. Dave was awake, but had left when Keith had gotten home. He said he was heading down to the auto shop to open things up. Keith's heart was beating frantically, and it hurt to talk. Tears threatened to appear in his eyes as his fingers slipped on the buttons and the number was ruined.

He redialed, and this time Nick's voice answered. "What?" He sounded agitated, as if Keith was interrupting something. He knew what he was going to say, but he couldn't get the words out, finally he sighed and he stated. "Something's really wrong. I need to talk to you in person. I'm sorry to bug you right now…but you need to know." Without waiting for a response, he slammed the phone down and collapsed on the plush couch behind him.

After slipping into slumber in the chair, Keith was awoken by a knock at his door. He stumbled awkwardly to his feet as he scampered to the door and flung it open. Nick was in front of him, his hand raised as if he was about to knock again. Ellis was behind him, his steady blue eyes staring at Keith in confusion and anxiety. "A'ight Keith?"

The older hick rubbed his forehead from sweat as he allowed the two other men to enter. "What is it?" Nick asked shortly, his eyes flicking around the living room impatiently.

"It's Karin." Keith sputtered in exhaustion. He was trying to get back with everyone, for he was still drowsy and not all the way there. He couldn't stop his mouth now, "Th-They…they're going to _kill her_"

Nick's eyes widened and his eyebrows furrowed in a sudden rush of anger. "What?" He sharply asked, his piercing green eyes stabbing into Keith's dark ones. He was frantic again, but tried to calm himself. "She…she was frightened, and had killed two people when she was trying to escape the hospital. Now they're going to kill her. They told me, but didn't want to inform you of this."

Nick stood very still, gathering up everything that Keith was saying. He eyes slowly moved to the door behind Keith as he stated, "Maybe it's for the best." The words came as a huge shock to Keith, which practically sent him attacking the older man. Ellis's face was grim.

"_Are you mad?_" Keith asked in shock. Nick snapped his gaze back to Keith. "NO. I'm not _MAD. _She's not even _Karin _anymore. She's this monster trying to _be _like her, don't you see it?"

"You don't know what I see in Karin. I was in that place, before I was forced to leave by a guard, and she started to _cry_. MONSTERS DON'T CRY!" Keith yelled in defiance to the older man. Nick looked away, his eyes clouded and distant.

"This might be shit to listen to, kid, but life is unfair in so many possible ways. You can't be greedy like this, kid; she's in agony being like this. You don't understand how much she wants to be _free_. Even if I shared your concerns and even if I wanted her to be alive and like _this_, the CEDA will give us no say in what her fate is. They saved our asses, so we practically owe them here. They have guns, and they have them not only pointed at the infected, but at _US. _One of us steps out of line, we're dead!" Nick snapped, about ready to punch Keith square in the jaw.

The hick didn't know what to say to that, and he backed down. He was quiet after that. Nick regained his posture, nodding to the sorrowful hick. "I'm sorry, but I can't help you in any way. But thank you for informing me about…her fate."

The two men both left without a word, and Keith was left alone. The hick was exhausted, and he felt about done with everything he was involved in. He wanted Karin back so badly, and he knew Nick missed her more than him. He did feel greedy, and _foolish_. He looked out of the window, and the cool breeze that blew passed. He watched Nick and Ellis get into their car and drive off down the road.

Keith straightened himself up. Time for the funeral.

_**oOoOoOoOoOo**_

Karin had broken loose again. And she wasn't about to be brought down so easily. The doctor from before was lying on the ground, trying to hold his entrails as best as he could. He watched her walk by him, her eyes never meeting his. The doctor did not scream out once, but died in silence.

Karin was careful this time, hiding behind corners and in crevices, or anywhere she could fit. She watched guards run down the hallway, completely oblivious to the fact the monster was hiding underneath a medical cart inside of a storage room.

She crept out of the storage, kicking open the door and running down the hallway, arms out like a bird, claws unsheathed like a weapon, and her lips drawn back in a snarl. The first CEDA guard that crossed her path was easy to take down, but before she could finish the final blow, two more came upon her with clubs and guns.

She fought them off, although it was tough business, and fled down the hallway. They weren't dead, but tried to crawl toward their weapon as the target fled their line of vision down the hallway to the front door.

Keith was making his way up the stairs at that time, preparing to be with Karin the few moments before her emaciation. Before he made it to the door, it was shoved open, and Karin ran through it, colliding with the hick and crashing to the pavement.

Karin snarled in his face, but noticed who the person was and calmed down immediately. She didn't have time to acknowledge his presence, though, for hands grabbed her from behind and pulled her back. "No!" Keith yelled, gathering himself to his feet.

A gun was pointed to Karin's temple, and she writhed in the strong hold of four CEDA men as the leader of the guards that morning smiled maliciously. "You think you're so _great _huh? You really fought like a pro, _shit_, but you must always know that the guys with the guns always win."

Keith advanced on the guards, shoving some of the men away. "Don't' touch her, please!" The guard glared angrily at Keith, stopping him from advancing anymore. "Get out of here; you don't want to see this!" Keith angrily slammed his fist against the guard's chest, sending him sprawling back against the wall.

"_Don't touch me_." Keith hissed, trying to grab a hold of Karin. "You bastards have done ENOUGH."

He was shoved back again. His head almost smacked against pavement, but he regained his footing and faced the guards. Thanks to his paranoid safety, he kept a handgun in his back pocket, and he grabbed it. He pointed it at the guards, his eyes darkening. "You're the real monsters, doing this."

Karin struggled with the guards, calling out to him in fear. _Don't do this, Keith, PLEASE. Let them kill me; don't do anything stupid…like this!_ But it was too late.

One of the guards stepped through the crowd, gun already aimed at Keith, and fired.

The bullet struck the hick in the shoulder, and another fired into his neck. He struck the pavement hard, and didn't get back up. Karin broke free of the hold and rushed toward his dying body, tears flooding down her cheeks. "KITHHK." She screamed, going down on her knees and delicately touching his shoulder wound. He was already dead upon impact with the ground, and Karin's anger burst through her like a dangerous volcano.

She turned on the guards, her claws extended and her mouth open in a scream. The scream pierced their ears. It echoed around the town, even reaching Nick's ears as he walked down the street from the mall. Her scream was filled to the brim with hate, anger, fear, and loss…

She was gunned down before she could pin someone down.


End file.
